


The Werewolf Among Us

by NazRigar



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Abusive Parents, Action/Adventure, Alador Blight is a Jackass, Alador Blight is slightly better than Odalia but that's not saying much, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Dragons, F/F, Gen, Good Parent Eda Clawthorne, Gus and Willow don't appear in the first chapter but they'll become more prominent later, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Lesbian Amity Blight, Museum Visit, Museums, Mystery, Odalia is the main abuser, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pansexual Lilith Clawthorne, Post-Episode: s01e19 Young Blood Old Souls, Rating May Change, Thought it would best give warnings as well, Werewolf!Alador, are the equivalent of dinosaurs in the boiling isles, but Alador is still an enabler, fossils and everything
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:08:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27918724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NazRigar/pseuds/NazRigar
Summary: Months after the incident in Belos' Castle, and with everyone having gotten used to the new dynamic within the Owl House, Luz, Eda and Lilith take a visit to one of the greatest landmarks in all of Bonesborough... the Bonesborough Museum of Natural History. If there's any place that would help find Luz a way to get back home, it's there! What they were NOT expecting, is bumping into the Museum's primary benefactor, the Blight Patriarch himself, Alador Blight. Proud, powerful and dangerous, he exudes absolute authority, and exemplifies what a Blight should be... much to Luz and the gang's frustration.Then, later that night, Luz senses a dark, looming presence within the museums halls, and that there's more to the Blight Patriarch than meets the eye...
Relationships: Alador Blight & Amity Blight, Alador Blight & Lilith Clawthorne, Amity Blight & Lilith Clawthorne, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & Luz Noceda
Comments: 46
Kudos: 97





	1. Night at the Museum

**Author's Note:**

> Wooh boy! My first ever fanfic! This is the culmination of a long-line of events after the end of YBOS and the revelation of Amity's parents. It had its roots in a twitter theory that Alador's dad MIGHT be a werewolf and I just ran with it, making a bunch of concept art for it on my Tumblr, which then led to me wanting to make a story out of it.
> 
> This PARTICULAR chapter was basically also my of gushing about what a JOY it was to visit the London Museum of Natural History last year, a LITERAL dream come true. I tried my best to convey this same sense of joy and wonder with Luz here.
> 
> Also, be prepared for a LOT of Disney references, from both the films and television series in this chapter.

"It's SO much more beautiful than you described it Eda! I'm gonna faint!" Squealed Luz Noceda as she she gazed upon one of the most spectacular sites in all the Boiling Isles.

 **The Bonesborough Museum of Natural History**.

Built as magnificent as any Cathedral, with a great gate flanked by the fossils of two elder dragons, and walls that were lined with statues of gargoyles, wyverns, and (if Luz's eyes aren't playing with her) a statue of a literal Jersey Devil. So many ancient monsters and beasts that, according to legend, have been alive and kicking even before the Titan fell!

The Museum is one of the largest and most comprehensive houses of knowledge in all the Boiling Isles. No other place in the Boiling Isles even compares to the Museum's sheer size, scope and vast array of knowledge and artifacts of the past. To top it all off, according to Eda and Lilith, the Museum even has fossils of ancient beasts that were said to have even taught magic to the earliest witches! (Though according to Lilith, evidence for those creatures actually teaching magic is still very much disputed).

With its vast array of exhibits and archives that extend to almost all aspects of the Boiling Isles' history, maybe, just maybe, there's a chance that there's clues for perhaps an alternative to the Door Portal. If any place has clues for alternatives, it's here!

"Ahhh kiddo, it never gets old to see your eyes sparkle like that."

"I can't WAIT to go inside and soak it all in! But which section to go first? It's HUGE!"

"Perhaps I can be of some help? I've been visiting the museum since I was a child, I have quite a lot of fond memories of this place. It’s basically become a second home for me." Lilith offered.

It has been several months since the events in Belos' castle, and Lilith has taken. Adjusting to Lilith's presence within the Owl House was, at first, awkward and difficult. Even now, there are some nights where Luz wakes up in the middle of the night, haunted by the memories of that fateful day.

For her part, Lilith has done her absolute best to try and make up for her actions during her time as head of the Emperor's coven. Eda's concerned however; it's one thing to feel guilt, but there may be something even deeper going on in Lilith's mind right now. Something dark. What exactly that feeling is, Eda isn't sure... She'll have to have a... chat with her one day.

But today however? Today is a day of joy. A day to unwind and let Luz experience something new and wonderful. Besides, knowing how much Lily was SUCH a huge nerd for any tidbit knowledge, maybe bonding over every little thing inside would help smooth things over.

"HA! Oh, Lily, I knew you'd still geek out about going back to this dusty old place!"

"EDALYN! It's not 'Dusty', it's-"

"Yeah, yeah 'greatest repository of knowledge in the known world' I get that. Yeesh! It's a compliment! The dust gives the artifacts that kinda charm!"

"Eda there's more to them than just- UGH! Never mind." Huffed Lilith, not wanting argue any further.

They approached the main gate of the Museum, a colossal thing made of some sort of very ancient wood. Carved from top-bottom with symbols and what appears to be a timeline of life on the Boiling Isles from beginning to end, Luz can sense a strong magical presence flowing through every edge of the door just by looking at it. For the denizens of the Boiling Isles this was no more special than any other door, but to Luz, coming from a world with no magic at all, it was truly something to behold.

Entering the main hall of the Museum however, was where the real magic began. Luz gawked at the sight that beheld her.

The Grand Hall, as it was known, was circular and wide, with people from all corners of the isles coming to see the Museum's vast collection of exhibitions. The centerpiece of the hall were two titanic fossils bigger than almost any dinosaur Luz has ever seen. One was that of a mighty cyclops, fists raised his up in the air as if ready to crush his would-be opponent, an equally massive dragon, its maw riddled with teeth and poised to strike the cyclops the second it makes a false move.

Surrounding them were dozens of smaller skeletons of other kinds of fantastical creatures, including a dog-like creature with huge eye sockets ("Chupacabra!") and a real-deal Jersey Devil fossil.

In several glass cases, there were a more diverse array of artifacts; stones with engravings and drawings from the age of Wild Magic, alongside taxidermies and models of various creatures (including a strange, eight limbed, salamander-thing being strangled by what appears to be, a blue 4-armed dog with big bug eyes).

The thing that caught Luz' eyes the most however, was the circular mural. It was a mural dedicated to the entire history of life itself on the boiling isles, marching in tandem. Growing up on a healthy diet of anime, cartoons and video games, Luz could barely contain her excitement.

"Kid, you okay there? I think you stopped breathing." Eda chimed in.

Luz took a deep, DEEP breath. Apparently, she was so enraptured by the sight of the grand hall she almost forgot to breath.

"OH! I'm so sorry Eda it's just... WOW! It's like every single thing I grew up watching and reading, turned out to be real! And-and... Gosh. I dunno. Back when I was a kid, I was the odd one out. Everyone thought I was THE weirdo in school. No one understood WHY I'm just SO obsessed with... well, all this. I feel like I belong here. Ya know. I just..."

"Kid... is something the matter?".

Eda knelt and held Luz by the shoulders.

"I just wish I could show this to everyone back home... including Mami. Maybe they'll _finally_ understand me."

"Luz... what did I tell you? Weirdos stick together, and if those chumps can't see what a special kid you really are, then they could go jump off a cliff for all I care. And your Mom? From what I got from you whenever you talk about her, she seems to be a great mom. Believe me kid, she'll understand."

Luz couldn't help but give a small smile. She gave Eda a tight hug.

"Now, come on kid, let's go and look around. I'm sure you're just itching to see some dragons!"

"YOU BET! Okay-okay-okay... WHERE'S the dragon section?"

"The Hall of Beasts is the largest and most extensive creature gallery in the Museum. If you want to see different species of dragons, it’s in there. It's past the gate beneath the statue of one _Trichotodraco Petrusii_." Commented Lilith.

"The... the what?" Luz asked.

Lilith breathed in a deep sigh. "Peter's Hairy Dragon. The door right behind the Lesser Moose-Wyvern"

"Ooooooh! So _THAT'S_ what Jersey Devils are called here! Alright! Time to look at some gnarly beasts! AND maybe find some clues to get back home! WOOHOO!"

And just like that, Luz bolted toward to the Hall of Beasts faster than any jackalope.

"Ha! I knew she'd get a kick outta here. I swear, she's more into this kinda stuff than almost any witch in the isles"

"Indeed, it almost reminds me of my own childhood here."

"Yup! Oh, and Lily... just wanted to say, thank you."

"Thank you? Whatever do you mean Edalyn? I hardly did anything. I only gave the _suggestion_ of coming here."

"Oh, come on Lily, I knew you talked to the guards before we came here. I mean, who else can convince _those_ groups of idiots to turn a blind eye toward Luz and I?"

"Please... it was nothing. It was only sheer luck that the guards were sympathetic to our cause. I had _nothing_ to do with it."

"Lilith, there you go again..."

"Edalyn I'm not-"

"Lily, I get you're trying to do better, but you've been beating yourself up _way_ too much lately. I mean look at that guy over there waving at us. You don't think he's letting us through just because he's hearing out 'Our Cause'?"

"Oh, that's just Steve. He's always been like that."

"Always like what? _Happy_ to see his old boss still kicking? _Still_ eager to please his former Coven Leader? Come on..."

"Edalyn in all my years in the Coven, I had to intimidate and threaten my way to the top, and in turn, I had to live in fear of the Emperor himself. I don't know if any of them followed me out of genuine loyalty or because they were _scared_ of me."

"Well don't look now, Steve's heading your way... so much for being _scared_ of ya, eh Lily?"

"MS. LILITH! It's so good to see you again! I miss your shoulder pats!" Steve blurted excitedly.

"Oh! Steve, why thank you... I... I missed you as well!"

"It's just not the saaaaame. Big Al never gives me shoulder pats when I do my job well!" Steve huffed in frustration.

Lilith's eyebrows shot up at the name "Big Al". Steve could only be referring to one person and one person only.

"Steve... is Alador Blight visiting the museum today? He almost never comes on weekends."

"Oh yeah totally! Not for any business trip or whatever. You know, I TOTALLY forgot why he's coming here today!" said Steve as he scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassed at forgetting an important detail in front of his favorite former-commander.

"Oh great... Dog Breath is here..." Eda grit her teeth at the thought of even seeing the Blight Patriarch.

Lilith flinched a bit at Eda's nickname for Alador. Eda and Alador were never really close, but she _really_ began to hate him after Hexside. Lilith on the other hand, was a different story.

Still, Alador was one of the most prominent witches on the Boiling Isles. No doubt, if he were to see Luz, alone and unguarded, there's a good chance he'd try and catch her himself to curry favor with the Emperor. While Luz was getting more creative each day with her glyphs, Alador was by _far_ the most talented Abomination user in all the land.

"Thank you, Steve. I appreciate you informing us of Alador's presence."

"No problem Ms. Lilith! OH WAIT! I think I know why Alador's here on a Saturday. Give me a minute." Steve then proceeded to rub his temples in concentration, trying to remember why his new boss was visiting the museum.

Lilith and Eda smirked. Steve isn't the brightest tool in the shed, but boy does he try his best to be useful.

"OH! That's right, he's bringing his daughter here! The one with the fake green hair! What was her name? Ashley? Allie? Abercomby?"

"Amity..."

"That's right! Amity! Thanks Ms. Lilith, you're so smart!"

Lilith froze at the name. It's been months she'd she last talked with her former apprentice. The memory of Amity's verbal lashing was fresh and still stung to this day. She had been giving Lilith the silent treatment ever since, and though it pained her, she had kept her distance in respect to the witchling's much needed space. 

Instead of continuing to allow herself to be burdened by the past Lilith had set her mind working towards the future, learning to try and forgive herself before she could feel worthy of seeking forgiveness from others.

Still though, if she is here, she's going to have to be careful. She doesn't know how Amity would react to seeing her again.

"Lily... Lily... " Eda noticed her sister was deep in thought. She clearly was having a lot of emotions running through her head at the moment. Her thoughts drowning out everything else going around her.

"LILY!"

"ARGH! Edalyn! Don't DO that!"

"Lily... you were spacing out pretty hard back there."

"Yeah! What the Owl Lady said. It was kinda scary."

"Oh! I'm sorry. I'm... thinking about things. If indeed my former apprentice is accompanying her father, I'm just trying to figure out how to approach Amity. I'm trying to give her as much space as possible, but with her father in the picture... it's going to be a lot more difficult."

Eda put her hands on her hips. She honestly didn't know exactly how to help Lily with the situation with her former apprentice. Whatever's going on between her and her apprentice, she should try and fix it on her own... After all, Lily had hurt Amity on a personal level twice, especially since one of them involved _Luz_. The green-haired girl didn't know it, but her crush toward Luz was so obvious her blush could be mistaken for a traffic-lantern. All she can do is encourage Lily to at least _try_ to engage with Amity today.

"Lily, you _know_ you're going to have to talk it out with Amity one day or another right? Today MIGHT be that chance."

"I'm... I'm not sure how. What if I make things worse?"

"You won't know if you don't try, Lily. I know deep down you still care about her, and honestly, I'm _glad_ you're trying to figure out how to do right for her. You changed a _lot_ since getting out of that damned coven, believe me!"

Lilith couldn't help but smile; to hear that from the sister she has caused so much grief and anguish was the most reassuring thing she can think of right now.

"We'll talk more about this while we walk around. Right now, we just gotta catch up to Luz. Don't want her to bump into Dog Breath on her own."

"Of course, Edalyn... and thank you, for your words earlier."

Eda just responded with a smile of her own, and the two sisters headed off to try and find Luz in the Hall of Beasts.

* * *

Within the Hall itself, a man and a small girl stood in front of a skeleton of a massive six-limbed creature of reptilian build. Unique amongst all the display skeleton of ancient creatures, this one was _not_ a fossil. It's the preserved, sun-bleached bones one of the last Lindwyrms... complete with a sword jammed through its skull. Notably, that sword had the Blight insignia on its hilt.

"Now Amity. I want you to understand _why_ the museum is more than just a repository of old bones and dusty trinkets. It doubles as a symbol of Blight power and influence. Nearly all the artifacts, expeditions and research that goes on within the museum is funded by our family." The man stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes father. I understand."

"Furthermore, many of the fossils here I bought with my own, personal fortune through auctions. Understand this Amity, I could care less about why most of those bones are worth so much, but by _donating_ the bones to _this particular_ museum, I give the appearance that _I am giving back to the community_. Public favor is vital to survival of our House."

Amity simply nodded. As a Blight, she knew it would be one day her responsibility to carry on many, _many_ of her family's myriad of legacies... But the thought that she may have to lie and manipulate so many innocent people disgusted her.

At Hexside she used to have to lie and hide about her former friendship with Willow just to keep up with appearances. Her trust in her former mentor was broken ever since Lilith used her in Covention. And now her father expects her to do the same for the "good" of the family name? That’s just so… so…

"Amity... is there something on your mind right now? Should I be... _concerned_ about this?" Alador questioned, snapping Amity back to the present.

"NO! Father, I’m just thinking about what other ways I could... advance the family name. In my own way."

Alador crossed his arms, and Amity flinched just for a tiny bit. She can tell her father didn't necessarily believe her, just by looking at the grimace on his face.

Alador made a lengthy sigh. Clearly, he didn't want to argue any further... for now.

"Very well... let us move on to the next exhibit of note. It involves your ancestor, the one, the only Regina-"

Alador paused immediately. There was someone he was quite familiar with staring right back at him.

There came none other than the infamous Raven Witch herself, leisurely ambling across the aisle accompanied by her boorish sister and her pet human. Lilith had this guarded look in her eyes the moment they made contact with his own.

"Blight," Lilith acknowledged curtly. Before Alador could get a word out, Luz whizzed by Lilith's cape and practically pounced on Amity in a big bear hug.

"Oh my gosh, Amity! I didn't expect to see you here!" She squealed, oblivious to the rising temperature in the witchling's face. Luz was still grinning like an idiot when she finally released her, though she kept her hands on her shoulders. Amity caught her father's disapproving, almost repulsed look, from the corner of her eye and she could feel her face heating up further from the combination of her not-so-secret crush and from utter embarrassment.

"H-hi, Luz," she stammered out, quickly composing herself and clearing her throat for good measure. She opted to take a step back and give each other space as to not arouse any further suspicion from the older Blight.

 _'So, this is the human that's been the causing all the fuss with the Emperor's Coven...'_ Opined Alador. Crossing his arms, he's going to have a talk about Amity's relationship with the human sometime later. While it is going to be disappointing that he'll have to break her daughter's heart once more, he had to end her questionable friendship one way or another. The fact that she's human is irrelevant, it's the _instability_ that comes being associated with her, and her insufferable mentor that was concerning. In Alador's eyes, the ends always justify the means... Especially when the family name is on the line. 

Shifting his focus from the human to Lilith, he couldn't help but focus on how much she's changed since the incident with Belos. Her hair was _far_ wilder than he remembered when she was head of the coven, much closer to the style of her youth. She dressed much simpler than before, trading the formal dress for a much more practical set of a black, long-sleeved shirt, cream-colored pants and black boots.

While he had to admit, it was a _much_ less elegant look for her, he can't help but note how it... accentuated her. Even the cape, the last remnant of her days as head coven leader added a flair of regality to her that he very much found intriguing.

 _'No... That window had passed far too long ago'_ Alador reprimanded himself. This was no time to feel remorse for something that was never meant to be. Straightening himself and crossing his arms behind his back, he certainly was able to look the part of what a Blight should be;

Proud, powerful, and always above the rest. Vulnerability is not even an _option_ in his eyes.

"Lilith, I was certainly not expecting you here. I would've expected you'd keep a much lower profile lest you be caught." He did his best to bury any emotions that might show in his face.

"Well, who would have known a new wardrobe, some glasses and letting my hair run at least a bit wild would do wonders to escape detection. Or perhaps that says more about the other Coven leaders than it does the guards, wouldn't it?"

"Bold words coming from someone who couldn't catch her baby sister for, what was it, a month or two? Or was it longer? I can't recall..."

Alador shifted his eyes to Lilith's sister, hoping it would cause a reaction on Edalyn. She gave him a cold, hard glare... determined to wipe his smug little smirk from his face.

"Hey Dog-breath, you wouldn't even take a step out of your ivory mansion to get your hands dirty looking for me."

Eda smirked as she was able to see Alador's eye twitch at her nickname for him. It always got under his skin, a HUNDRED percent of time. Alador took a deep breath to regain his composure.

"Careful with that tongue of yours Edalyn. I could have you all arrested at the snap of my finger-tips. Be thankful I am feeling _lenient_ today, as I'd rather not blemish this place; a place I've dedicated a good portion of my life maintaining."

As Eda and Alador began arguing, Lilith shifted her gaze to her former apprentice. The guilt was clear in her eyes, and all she could muster for now was a simple hand-wave.

Luz looked back and forth toward Amity and Lilith. The awkward tension was so thick she could cut it with a knife. Amity didn't respond right away, looking a bit conflicted herself. Some passing eyes were already on their little group drawn by Eda's and her father's bickering, adding a bit more pressure to her already tensed state. Instead of waving back, she simply hugged her elbows and looked away with her ears down.

"Uhhh... She's doing her best, Amity. Really! She's changed a lot over the past few months..."

Amity can sense that Luz was being genuine... and knowing what Lilith did to Luz, that says a lot about Lilith's efforts. Still, it was still hard for her to look at her former mentor, even if a small part of her missed spending time with her. Contrary to what Lilith believed, Amity DOES want to reconcile but had convinced herself that she needed more time, and that there were still knots to untangle in her web of emotions.

Trying to break the awkwardness for a bit, Luz tried to change the topic. 

"So! Amity, I am having the TIME OF MY LIFE here in the Museum. You don't see anything like here back on Earth. To think, there used to be _actual_ dragons! SO amazing!"

Amity blushed at the sight of Luz's earnest joy about being able to visit here. It was always adorable whenever she goes full on "gushing mode" as Amity called it. Having grown up here, the things in the museum were much more mundane for her.

A thought came to Amity, she knew a piece of trivia that would surely amaze Luz eve further!

"Yeah... Oh! Did you know there's rumors of how some dragons managed to _get out_ of the Boiling Isles?"

Luz audibly GASPED hearing that.

"No. WAY!"

"It's just a rumor, but it's said that groups of dragons were able to escape the isles via disguising themselves as humans. I'm not sure how true or not that is, as I'm pretty sure dragons didn't even know what a human looked like in that era."

Just as Luz was about to reply, a harsh voice came in between them.

"Amity. What are you doing? It is beneath you to spread such unsubstantiated rumors."

"But father I was just-"

"Amity, rumor-mongering, especially ones with so little merit. Dragons were animals, they may have been creatures brimming with magic, but simple animals none-the-less. They wouldn't even be able _comprehend the concept_ of a human, let alone disguising as them."

"I... yes Father. I won't do that again..."

Luz looked back-and-forth between Amity and her dad. The way Amity's ears drooped and her eyes lost a bit of spark gave out warning signs immediately. She definitely knows she's not going to like Amity's dad anytime soon.

"Uh... Amity. How about we hang around the Museum for a bit? Maybe we could-"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" _roared_ The Blight Patriarch. The thought of his daughter spending even more time with the miscreant offended him to the deepest pit of his soul.

"Hey Dog-Breath! Don't you DARE speak that way to MY Luz!" Eda yelled back at Alador. She was primed and ready for a fight, and magic or no magic, no one yells at her apprentice that way and _lives_.

Luz and Amity both took a step back. The last thing both wanted was a brawl out in the open. The few guards that were stationed were readying to draw their weapons at a moment's notice. Luz and Amity were trying to think of ways to de-escalate the situation, but were at a loss at what to do? Both Eda and Alador looked as if though nothing would stop then.

It was then, a commanding voice broke through the air.

"Edalyn! Alador! Behave yourselves!"

 _That_ got both Eda and Alador to be quiet. Both looked at Lilith with a perplexed expression.

"But Lily-"

"I'll handle this. Trust me." Lilith looked sternly at her younger sister. Eda only could give a huff and crossed her arms. Lilith shifted her icy gaze toward Alador.

"Alador. Please. Don't bring the children into this. Whatever is between you, me and Edalyn should _stay_ between us. The last thing I want is turning this day into a nightmare for both Luz and my former apprentice. You've _always_ had a problem with your temper Alador, don't let it take over you, _especially_ for today of all days."

Alador didn't say anything. All he could do was look at the floor with a grimace on his face. It was then he was met with a gentle touch on both his shoulders, and immediately his face shot back up. Looking back at him were those icy blue-green eyes that he was just never able to stop thinking about.

Lilith leaned closer to one of Alador's ears. His heart was beating exponentially faster than it was before.

"Please. At the very least... _do it for me._ " 

Alador's ears turned bright red as Lilith looked back at him in the eyes again. With a deep breath, Alador did his best to calm down. It was still clear that a thousand things were running through his mind.

At last, he breathed out, releasing all the pent-up tension within his chest. The moment Lilith could feel Alador's shoulders relax, she let go of him. Alador adjusted his coat, making sure to tidy himself up.

"Fine. I won't bring any harm to the human or your boor of a sister. But Amity remains with me. This was supposed to be an important day for her. She has to understand the real importance this museum has to our family. Is that a deal?"

"It's a deal, Alador. Thank you."

The atmosphere all around was still a bit tense, but at the very least, Lilith knew Alador would keep to his word. Eda meanwhile still looked like she wanted to sock Alador in the face. Luz and Amity still looked at both, unsure if Lilith managed to get _through_ to Alador or not.

After a brief pause, Alador bellowed out to all of them. "Oh, **stop** your gawking you lot. On my honor as a Blight, I won't let anything happen to any of you during the duration of your visit here in _my_ museum. But _just this once._ "

Almost everyone let out a sigh of relief, as the crisis seemed to have been averted. It was then Amity and Luz realized that, during the heat of the moment, they held each other's hands in support. It was then both Luz AND Amity blushed furiously in embarrassment.

"OH WOW! Okay... WHEW! Wasn't that something!" Luz exclaimed awkardly.

"Oh yeah... DEFINITELY! Heh..." Amity rubbed the back of her head.

'I just held my crush's hand... Again!' Amity thought excitedly.

"Look. I'm sorry that we couldn't hang out today Amity. We'll catch up later okay? Maybe during school or something?"

"Of course, well, um... see you around Luz..."

"See you around Amity. I'll send you some funny pictures of me in front of the exhibits to cheer you up!"

Luz gave Amity one last hug before leaving alongside Lilith and Eda. Amity could only give a small wave saying goodbye. As Luz and the gang exited that part of the hall the way they came in, the room became so silent you could drop a pin in the middle of it for all to hear. The guards shifted awkwardly in their places, not really knowing what to do, and bystanders just looked at each other, not sure _what_ exactly just happened.

" **WHAT ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT? GET BACK TO WHERE YOU WERE. AND DO NOT EVEN _DARE_ SPEAK A WORD OF THIS TO ANYONE!**" Commanded Alador with enough power behind it to perhaps even scare a Slitherbeast if one were there.

Amity winced at his father's rage. She looked back at her father’s face, whose face of pure, white-hot rage, had faded to a look of utter disappointment and frustration.

"Well... that was... infuriating. But what does one expect with dealing with Edalyn's band of miscreants? Come along now Amity. Just as we planned earlier."

"Yes Father..." And so, both Blights tried their best to act as if everything was back to normal...

* * *

There was an awkward silence as they headed toward The Hall of Ancient Art, the most obvious place for Luz and the gang to find clues for another way home. That argument with Alador was still fresh in everyone's mind.

"Say... Eda, Lilith?"

"Yes Luz?" Lilith replied first. Eda was still stewing over her spat with Alador.

"I... I just wanted to say... I don't like Amity's father. The way Amity acts around him, I can tell something's wrong."

"Alador has always has been... difficult in controlling his temper."

"He's a JERK that's what he is! He only became even MORE of a jerk when he married that stuck-up, high-browed prissy princess Odalia." Eda fumed.

"Yeah, I can tell because, um… I don't know if Eda ever told you this Lilith... But I visited Amity's memories once..."

"YOU WHAT?"

"WOAH-WOAH Lilith! It's okay, we were fixing some issues between Amity and Willow. In that memory, I actually caught a glimpse of Amity's parents... Did you know he and Odalia helped... well... destroy Willow’s and Amity's friendship? Just, who does that to their own kid?"

"Pff. I can see ‘em doing that." Eda muttered.

Lillith rubbed her elbow in discomfort and sadness. In her heart, she wasn't actually surprised, but she at least, hoped beyond hope that Alador wouldn't be that kind of father.

"Did... Amity ever talk to you about her parents Lilith?"

"No, not often. She rarely if ever liked to speak about them, and when she did, all I could tell was that Alador was a bit more encouraging to her than Odalia. Still, it seems I didn't get the whole picture..."

Eda's pissed off look and Lilith's clear dejection indicated that at everyone had at least _some_ history with the Blight Patriarch. She could only imagine what went down with Lilith, Eda and Alador in their younger years.

"Do you... do you want to talk about it?"

"No, but Lily might. She's always been closer to him than I have."

Lilith's ears turned red for a bit. Luz said nothing, but she knows there's something there.

"Luz. Let's just say that Alador has always been a proud witch, and almost every waking moment of his life, he was raised to project strength and influence above all else. This very museum you and I walk in? Almost all of it is either made possible by the Blight family, or from Alador's own personal fortune. It's his family's way of showing off the 'magnificence' of the Blight name."

"Wait... ALL of this... is funded by the Blights?" For Luz, that knowledge made it feel all a bit tainted.

"Not _all_ of it Luz. Much like any other museum, small donations from Bonesborough's citizens help greatly. But the most magnificent and expensive contributions are indeed from the Blights. Even the labs that help find new discoveries about magic and our understanding of ancient creatures are mostly funded by Alador's personal fortune."

 _'Alador may think otherwise, but he always did have a keen interest in the past.'_ Lilith muttered in her own thoughts.

Luz was silent. It was hard for her to process that someone as big of an ass as Alador was also capable of creating a place that's so mesmerizing and wonderful. This place was full of warmth and passion... The Blight Patriarch on the other hand? He was anything but.

Seeing the dejected look in her apprentice’s eyes, Eda knelt down and gently held Luz by the shoulders, trying her best to console her.

"Look Luz. I get that it's... difficult to take in. But I swear, today is your day. Don't let that dirtbag ever get to you Luz. He doesn't see the real beauty of this place... but you do. You know that the value of this place is worth way more than money could buy. You deserve to enjoy every waking moment here."

Luz smiled at her mentor. Eda always knew the right things to say to her.

"...Okay Eda. I will."

"Great! Now waddya say we make some goofy faces in front of them cave paintings? You said you wanted to do it earlier and I am COMPLETELY up for it! How about you Lily?"

"Pass. But I am open for holding the scroll to take pictures.”

"Great! Alright kid, you ready?"

"Of course! I've been practicing my funny faces since I was a kid for maximum hilaritude!"

And so, they were headed off to begin a proper walk around the Museum. The day is still young, and they were sure to find something useful, all the while having fun with all the strange and wonderful exhibits the Museum had to offer.

* * *

Before they knew it, it was evening, and Luz and the gang spent time in almost every room the museum had to offer. From the hall of Prehistoric Art where ancient paintings depicting the titanic behemoths of old, to the hall of Earth and Stone, filled to the brim with priceless metals, jewels and what appeared to be the first crystal ball ever made by witches. They even visited the Hall of Fishes for a while, after Luz _begged_ to see some genuine fantasy sea creatures.

Alas, only the Hall of Paintings had material they could work with, and even then, it’s not much. Despite evidence that the concept of interdimensional travel was old as witches were able to do magic, there was no real concrete evidence of how they were able to do it. The paintings only depicted portals of light that brought things in and out, and the witches there were terrified of 'em by the looks of it.

Whatever secrets Prehistoric Witches had about going to other dimensions, the knowledge died with them, and was never passed down out of fear. For now, Eda's door was the last and most reliable method of getting back home... and it was destroyed.

Otherwise however, Luz still had a good time seeing everything _else_ the Museum had to offer, even buying a souvenir from the gift shop, titled "A Beastiary of the Boiling Isles, Past and Present". Still, it was a tad disappointing that even a place filled to the brim with knowledge like this, had no info on artifacts similar to Eda's door.

"UUUUUUGH, all that cool stuff but nothing on how to get to just Earth? Eda's door can't be the only one? Can it?" complained Luz as she noted the injustice of it all.

"I'm sorry Kiddo... We'll try to find another way, I swear. Even I'm a bit stumped! My door must've been one-of-a-kind among one-of-a-kinds. Those paintings may be our only clue that it's _possible_ , but oh-so dangerous. Kinda makes you feel sorry for those cave-witches."

"Well..." Interjected Lilith

Both Luz and Eda immediately turned their attention to Lilith. The elder Clawthorne looked left and right, making sure no one was paying attention.

"When I was head of the Emperor's Coven, I was able to have some insider access to the deeper levels of the museum. What’s exhibited here is but a fraction of what's being studied, and many old exhibit subjects are kept in storage for further research. Unfortunately, now that I've been stripped of my rank, it's unlikely we'll ever get access to such material."

"And without magic... Our chances getting there is basically zilch."

"Well... I have magic! Maybe I can, you know, sneak in at night? Get inside just like I did in Belos' castle?"

Both Eda and Lilith shook their heads. As much as Eda admired Luz' courage, the situation this time is a bit different.

"Not this time kid, if you get caught, ol' Dog-Breath won't let you go off the hook so easy this time."

"And, I don't know how much I can influence the guards to letting you inside. Letting us in once is already a luxury. Letting us inside a _second time_ , in an even _deeper_ location would be pushing the limit. I don't want my former subordinates to get in trouble for letting us, _wanted felons_ , to allow espionage in such a high-profile place."

Luz could only huff in frustration, even if both Clawthornes had a point. Still however, she could _feel_ she was on to something. She just _knew_ there was something more she can find besides cave paintings.

"Look Luz. Let's talk it over dinner okay? We'll keep on searching another time."

Luz took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Okay Eda, if you say so."

Without another word, Eda and Lilith held up their staffs, signaling to their palismans to begin taking flight. Luz as always rode with Eda, while Lilith preferred riding alone.

While Luz didn't say much of anything on their way back, inside her mind, she was already making plans...

* * *

That night, a lone, hooded figure just outside the gates of the fabled museum. The figure stood as firm as an oak, determination brimming in her heart. Luz Noceda was going deep in the bowls of the museum, no matter what.

 _'Sorry Eda... but I need to do this'_ Luz said to herself as she climbed over the museum's outer gates. Despite its status as an icon of Bonesborough, nobody seemed to be guarding such a sacred place.

‘Odd’ Thought Luz. She then simply shrugged it off as the guards about to take turns on their duties.

Luz hopped off the gate and landed on the well-groomed grass.

 _'Alright, breaking in at night, like in those spy movies!'_ Luz thought excitedly as she entered the museum's grounds once more. Despite a full moon outside, she was thankful that she never got caught by any of the guards that usually patrolled the Museum's gardens.

In fact, there weren't any guards at all, no matter which angle she sees. For a building full of priceless objects, security was beyond laughable. There weren't even any guards standing outside _the front gate of the main building itself_. Whoever Amity's dad must have hired as head of security here sure wasn't doing his job.

"Welllll if no-one's gonna stop me from entering the front door, I'll just whisk riiiiight in!"

To Luz' disappointment, the gate just so happened to be chained and locked.

"Well, that's nothing a fire glyph can't melt through! I just hope it doesn't burn down the door. Good thing I have a handy amount of ice glyphs just in case!"

And as Luz predicted, the moment she pasted a fire glyph on the chains, it melted into a heaping pile of slag on the floor. The door meanwhile didn't even have a scratch on it, she touched the wooden surface to make sure there was even a tiny bit of ash on it. It didn't even feel warm.

"Woah, _super-_ fireproof wood. Can this place get _any_ cooler?"

The moment she entered inside; her question was _immediately_ answered. Underneath the light of the full moon, she finally grasped how full of magic this place really was. The mural glowed in the night, animating all the creatures featured in the titanic art piece as if they were marching to a cadence. Dragons were breathing fire, hydra heads were biting at each other and the giraffe was doing, well, giraffe things.

Meanwhile, every time she got near a mounted fossil, they immediately became animated, as if giving a show to a spectator. Each one gave brief demonstration of how they moved and acted when they were alive.

The Cyclops beat its chest and bellowed at the dragon, who flapped his wings and gnashed its teeth in response. The Jersey Devil meanwhile jumped about in its display as if looking for a meal, and one of the fossils within the glass boxes started glowing an earie blue light, as if thousands or even millions of years of being a skeleton did not once diminish its magical potential.

"I would've given _anything_ for a museum field trip anywhere _near_ as cool as this back home..."

Unfortunately, all that gawking and staring made her very unaware of her surroundings. As Luz walked about taking in all the wonderful sights, she tripped backwards on something on the floor.

"OW!" Exclaimed Luz as she landed on her rump. Luz looked around to see just what exactly caused her trip. Or in this case... who.

Laying down on the floor, arms splaid out and holding on to a broken spear shaft, was Steve... a very battered and bruised Steve. His mask was cracked and clothing torn in many places, it's a miracle that whatever did this to him had enough restraint to leave him with only scratches and bruises.

"Oh my gosh! Steve! You okay there, big guy? If you're awake I'm so, SO sorry for not seeing you there!" Luz exclaimed frantically.

"Uuuuuuugh..." Steve groaned painfully.

"Hey there buddy, it's okay. Don't move too much... I got some healing patches to make you feel better..."

"You're... you're the human... Ugh... Boy am I glad Ms. Lilith didn't get to see my ass get kicked..."

"Who or what did this to you Steve? And wait... where's the rest of the guards? GASP! Is THAT why no one was around outside?"

"Something. Big... and hairy. And fast. None of us could even touch him... If you think I got it bad... You should see my buddies over there..."

Steve pointed weakly toward the gate of the Hall of Beasts. It appears that all the gates were closed and locked. She was pretty sure that's what all museums did at night... or the guards were trying to keep something in.

Whatever it was, they certainly failed their task. There were multiple guards lying unconscious in front of each of the gates, and the ones guarding the gate to the Hall of Beasts were literally _barreled_ over... leaving a few more unconscious guards and a gate door that needed replacing ASAP.

Any thoughts about digging deeper into the Museum's secrets was put on the backburner. There's a monster on the loose, one that's powerful enough to take out dozens of members of the Emperor's Coven. It could be something just as bad or _worse_ than the Greater Basilisk that attacked Hexside.

Luz looked back at the still-conscious Steve.

"Steve, I'm going to try and get to the bottom of this. I swear it on my honor as a witch-in-training".

"Human... you're not even supposed to be here... I-AGH! I'm supposed to report you to Big Al for trespassing here at night. He said nobody should be here this late…”

"Steve, at least if not for me... can you at least keep this is a secret for _Lilith's_ sake?"

Steve thought long and hard. The Raven Witch didn't know it, but there were many in the Emperor's Coven who genuinely adored and loved her leadership, and were more loyal to her than they were to the Emperor. And in the minds of many, any friend of Lilith’s is a friend of theirs, even the human.

"...Alright human. I'll do it for her. I miss her head pats. Now... if you excuse me... I'm gonna take a nap for a while..." And with a loud 'thud', Steve lost consciousness. Luz knew he was going to be fine, but now she had an urgent matter to look after.

_'Alright Luz. Just like Azura, it's time to kick some monster butt!'_

Luz bolted toward the gates of The Hall of Beasts, and when she reached past the busted down door, she was greeted with a horrifying sight.

The Hall was in complete and utter ruins. Fossils shattered about the floor, taxidermized mannequins broken and ripped apart, and many of the statues and paintings of the scientists and discoverers of these priceless and irreplaceable artifacts were either smashed to smithereens or torn as if they were put through a paper shredder.

Just this morning, Luz was gawking at its beauty... now... almost all of its gone. Luz' balled her fist in barely suppressed rage.

' _There goes one of my happiest memories..._ '

She didn't have time to stew however, for there's a mystery afoot! And she's gonna find out who the culprit was, no matter what!

All Luz had to do was follow the damage; the first room entering the Hall was a straight path, and the further down one walked, the worse the damage was. In the wreckage, she also noticed a common factor:

Claw marks. Big ones that cut deep into whatever surface she found them on.

Whatever the creature was, she can sense that the beast was probably as big or bigger than Eda was whenever she became the owl-beast, and it was very, VERY strong. It didn't matter if it was concrete, marble or steel, those claws cut through all of that like hot knives through butter.

When she went down and exited the gate of the first room, there were two paths, one leading to the room of prehistoric fish, and one leading to the hall of Were-beasts. Claw marks on the floor indicated where exactly the beast ran too.

_'Big guy or gal must've been hungry. Those poor fish!'_

She made a beeline toward the Room of Aquatic Life... but to her surprise none of the of the aquarium tanks were damaged. The only piece of glass destroyed by the beast was the window wall that helped illuminate the room during the day.

After its initial rampage, it seemed it was desperate to get out of here.

"Oh no... that's NEVER good..."

"LUZ!" Cried the distinct voice of the Raven Witch.

"AGH- OH Hiiiii Lilith!"

"I had an inkling feeling you were about to galivant back to the Museum! What on The Isles were you thinking? You're lucky that Edalyn slept like a rock today... though we'd be lucky if that accursed house demon doesn't rat us out to her..."

"But Lilith... when you said that what's _presented_ in the museum was only just scratching the surface... I had to go back inside to explore more! I just know it's here somewhere... I feel like I’m _so close to-_ "

"Luz... we are already on very thin ice. Didn't I tell you I can only influence the guards so much? This is _Alador's_ domain. What if you get caught? Do you think he'd be so merciful the second time? And _right_ after some... some CREATURE destroyed some of his most prized possessions?"

"Look, I managed to get into Belos' castle no problem! AND, I also kicked magic-eating Basilisk butt! I think I can handle whatever this thing is!"

"I'm not just talking about the monster! I'm talking about... all this! Do you know how easy it would be for someone of Alador's standing to pin you as the cause of all this destruction? All the goodwill you've had would be for nothing if he can make _you_ the villain in all this!"

"Lilith you can't-"

"I CAN!" Lilith was screaming at this point.

"Because... If anyone knows just how powerful a tool fear can be, it's me. Fear can make _anyone_ desperate..."

Lilith's tone dropped almost to a whisper as she finished, the weight of her own words bearing down heavily on her entire being.

Luz was caught off guard by Lilith's shift in demeanor and the growing conflict behind her eyes. During their whole time spent together since the escape from Belos' castle, it was rare for Lilith to exhibit any signs of vulnerability to anyone but her sister. As silence slowly stretched between them Luz decided to break the tension by taking Lilith's hand, catching the older witch by surprise.

"I'm sorry, Lilith. I know you were just looking out for me," Luz spoke softly. Saying that aloud made her realize that despite her past reservations about the raven witch, Lilith really was trying. It's a long-travelled road, but Lilith had proven that with every step she takes she ensures it was the right one.

"How 'bout we forget about this whole thing when we get home? Eda doesn't have to know." She added with a hint of teasing as a way to lighten her dour mood.

As Luz and Lilith turned to leave the museum, Lilith looked back at the shattered glass window. On one of the shards, she could see a tuft of fur hanging on. She took the tuft of fur from the window and felt it with her own palms.

The fur was coarse, like any woodland creature's, but it was the color that was most striking. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but she figured it was better if she kept it. Better her that figures out who _really_ is behind the attack on the museum.

If the more zealous members of the Emperor's coven were to find out... Let's just say that a public petrification is going to come _sooner_ than later...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of the first chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it so far. As I make new chapters of this fanfic, I hope to explore more of Alador's personality as well as his relationship with not just his children, but also with Eda and Lilith. Especially er-hem, Lilith. The main goal of writing Alador in this AU is making that sure that, while he becomes more miserable and sympathetic as the fic goes on, it does NOT excuse his obvious character flaws, as well as adding a bit of my own interpretation regarding his personality.
> 
> Lilith's and Alador's relationship, while not starting that way, eventually became CRUCIAL to the fic, especially after reading Sora_U's and FunnyFany's own fics.
> 
> Hopefully between commissions and writing for competitions, I can update this fic on a regular basis (again, hopefully).
> 
> If y'all are interested, you can also find me on @nazrigar in both my tumblr, deviantart and my instagram, or @A3DNazrigar on my twitter!


	2. The Gang Goes Brainstorming About Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An Emergency Assembly is held in school to address the situation of what happened during the Museum. Meanwhile, Luz tries to figure out who are what can help her and her friends find out the mystery of the monster. Then she had an idea:
> 
> Who better to help them figure out the mystery monster than beast-keeping and healing track member, Viney!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooh, I posted this instead of sleeping! Chapter 2 is here! This is actually was meant to be a LOT longer, but it got SO long that I had to split it to three parts. World building is going to be the heavy focus of this chapter, while the next chapter I'm planning is a lot more heavy. Also, Viney and Lumity!
> 
> ...
> 
> I just could not help but reference Sunny in Philadelphia for the title.

It's 7 O'Clock in the morning, and unlike most days in Hexside, there would be no homeroom today.

Instead, an emergency assembly in was held in the assembly hall where, typically, coven inspections are held. A podium was set up in the middle of the stage, with several chairs set up in the very back of the stage for every teacher in the school. 

Luz, Gus and Willow came earlier than most students and were about to take their seats in the fourth row in front of the stage. To their surprise, the Blight Siblings were already here, before almost anyone else. Unlike most days, Ed and Em had none of their usual mirth. They even almost looked a bit worried.

 _'I'm having a feeling they know what's gonna come up, considering who's their dad...'_ Luz figured.

Soon, more and more students began pouring in. Every student from every class and almost every grade was seated to hear what exactly was happening.

"Alright students. You might all be wondering we're all gathering here today rather than continuing our usual schedule. Believe me, I just wanted to make a cup of coffee when I got the notification on my scroll that we ALL had to gather here as soon as possible. Not even enough time for breakfast!" Principal Bump did his best to lighten the mood in only the way an educator who has seen countless shenanigans could.

The students shuffled uncomfortably. 

"Oh, okay then. Well let's get to the point, this is an emergency assembly, some of you may have heard of an incident that happened in Bonesborough's Museum of Natural History. BNN is specifically doing a nation-wide briefing on the subject, and it was agreed by all schools that students MUST watch it to keep themselves informed of this potential crisis. Ted, Eddy, would you please set up the projection crystal ball? Right here on the podium tribune."

Ted and Eddy were two students of the illusionist coven, and they volunteered to help with preparing today's assembly. With them they carried a crystal ball much larger than the ones you'd see in an Oracle coven class.

  
They placed it on top of the Podium, making sure that the podium can actually support it's weight this time (the last time someone tried, the tribune broke and the ball tumbled down the hall and rolled over Mattholomule).

  
Summoning their spell circles, the Crystal Ball shone bright, and from it was a large, circular screen that displayed a scene of a large gathering of people in front of the Bonesborough Museum of Natural History. It seemed that the incident of the museum caught on pretty quickly amongst the citizens of Bonesborough.

And there, front and center, was Gus' dad, Perry, delivering the news.

  
"This is Perry Porter of BBN, live to _you_ in front of a growing crowd just outside the Bonesborough Museum of Natural History. At Five O'Clock this morning, workers and janitors were shocked to discover that almost all the guards responsible for watching over the museum were laying unconscious on the floor of the Museum's Grand Hall. While thankfully, there were no fatalities among the Guards and Coven Members the same cannot be said for the interior of the Museum."

It was then the cameras shifted to the now-ruined Hall of Beasts. There were audible gasps within the hall, and already some of the students began panicking. Principal Bump ordered them to calm down.

  
"Holy crud. Something managed tear up an entire hall like that in just ONE night?"

  
Luz gave Willow a nod.

  
"AND managed to kick the butts of dozens of Emperor's coven members! I thought only Hooty could do that." Gus pointed out

"I'm just glad no one actually died. I know at least one guy among them, a guy named Steve. He's not bright, but he's definitely one of the nicer ones... if only because of Lilith."

"Oh, is this Steve that guy right now?" Willow pointed to the screen.

Luz shifted her gaze back to the projection screen. To Luz's surprise and relief, Steve was back to normal alongside a few of his buddies (Luz had to admit, even with healing patches, that was fast), trying to make sure the crowd was as orderly as possible. Perry Porter walked toward them, with the clear intent of getting some answers regarding the situation.

"I'm here beside three members of the Emperor's Coven. If our sources are correct, these three were one of the eye-witnesses of the attack on the Museum, and thus, for now, gives us the best perspective on who could be possible for the attack. Tell me, what's your name sir?

"Steve."

"Steve what?"

"Just Steve. Son of Steven, who was the son of Stefan."

"...Ooookay... Well, Steve, you and your comrades were eyewitnesses to the event, and put up quite a struggle. Can you give a brief description of what the assailant was like?"

"It was big, it was fast and it was hairy!" Steve shouted, arms waving in the air to try and help visualize just how large the monster was.

"Wait... hairy? You sure Steve?" Said the guard to Steve's left.

"Yeah, I can verify that. Smelled weird too." Said another guard to Steve's right.

"As the only eyewitnesses available to the scene, any ideas on what could this mystery assailant be? The world would like to know just what we could possibly be dealing with."

"I think it's a Slitherbeast"

"No, no, no. It's bigger than a Slitherbeast I think. I think it's like a Manticore."

"NO! You're both wrong. It's a werewolf. Come on, think about it guys, it attacked on a full-moon, it's hairy, fast, and pissed off. And those claw marks? Manticores and Slitherbeasts can't do that!"

"Steve, don't be dumb, you know Werewolves have been extinct for like... 60 years right?"

"How would you know? They could be hiding or something!"

"Don't tell me you actually WATCH those cryptid videos? They fake stuff like that ALL the time!"

"But it makes the most sense and you know it!"

Perry just stood there uncomfortably at the growing argument between the coven-members. It was then, Perry noticed that the once-rowdy crowd became almost dead silent. He over his shoulder, and immediately signaled to the camera man to shift the focus to the elevated Podium.

"This just in! Alador Blight, one of the primary benefactors of the Museum, and one of the heads of the Blight Household, has entered the vicinity. He's about to make a press briefing on the status of the Museum."

Amity could feel all the eyes in the assembly hall looking at her, alongside Ed and Em. Emira gave her an encouraging shoulder pat to try and calm her baby sister.

Alador began the press briefing.

"Citizens of Bonesborough. As many of you know, during the middle of the night, one of our sacred institutions, an iconic landmark of the city, was savagely attacked by an unknown assailant. We unfortunately have no concrete evidence on who or what attacked the Museum, but based on what has been gathered so far, we can at least conclude that the mostly culprit was a large and as-of-yet unidentified creature.

We do not know if the creature attacked on its lonesome, or it was sent by unknown party wanting to cause as much destruction on our city as possible.

Either way one puts it, it's a tragedy. We have all lost something precious today, something irreplaceable, something that should be sacred to all who calls themselves a true witch. What we have lost is a piece of our heritage, a piece of the Isles themselves, either to a freak accident involving a monster, or the malicious and selfish desires of coward who hides in the shadows."

Amity _scowled_.

 _' **Bullshit,** Dad. You told me yesterday you didn't care about why they're worth so much. Only that it makes you look _good. _'_

"Citizens of Bonesborough, I am but one upstanding citizen doing his best to help with the situation. But I urge you from one concerned Bonesboroughian, please stay vigilant and keep your eyes open for any mysterious activity you see. If you see anything that even  
Whoever it is, be it witch, demon or foul beast, they will be brought before all of the Isles to see, and be properly dealt with. It will be a lesson for anyone, or anything that dares to bring harm to our city.

Be sure to read the official Imperial guidelines regarding rogue creatures, for the sake of your families, your friends, and the community at large. That is all from me, I will now have to assess the full damage to the Museum and try to salvage as much as I, the curator and the head of security can.  
Good day."

And with that, the projection orb stopped shut down.

As the students began to process what they seen and heard, the assembly hall was deathly silent.

Then came a whole lot of screaming.

Principal Bump could hear at least ten "we're gonna die!"s, five "what do we do?!"s and, in a disturbingly bizarre twist, at least one "Wow, Amity's dad looks _great_ on camera!". With the assembly quickly becoming a riot, he pointed toward Teddy.

"Eddy! Quick! the Dragon Horn!"

Conjuring what appears to be a large, brass embossed horn made from, what appears to be, genuine dragon horn, Eddy took a deep breath and blew the mighty horn, whose bellow could shake the very foundation of the school itself. It unfortunately takes a LOT of effort, and Eddy was clearly out of breath.

All the students were dead silent. 

"Wow. Didn't think that would work-Oh! Er-hem... Now, the school administration has learned its lessons from the incident with the Greater Basilisk earlier this year, and has created a guideline for each and everyone of just for this occassion! After all, we cannot guarantee that Animal Control can handle everything. So, Eileen, Cat, Amelia, if you please?"  
The three students began handing out a book called "Monsterspotting 101".

"So! What we're going to today everyone, is that we're going to have a brief orientation on what to do when you see a giant, rampaging monster, and animal control is nowhere to be seen! Now, let's begin with page 5..."

All the students did as they were told. As Luz was reading, she already had a thousand thoughts going through her head... processing what on the Boiling Isles could be so dangerous that it'd warrant this level of caution.

Well... at least this orientation should be short.

* * *

"That orientation took HOURS" Whined Gus.

"I agree, that was... EXCESSIVELY long. I understand it's meant to keep us safe, but it even went down to 'don't wear funny looking hats in case of manticore'. Isn't that a myth?" Inquired Willow.

"It's such a disorganized, jumbled mess of a safety orientation. I think they tried to make a general rule-set for creature encounters, then got lost trying to talk about specific encounters for specific monsters." Criticised Amity.

"So much... repetitiooooon" Groaned Luz. She did NOT enjoy having to repeat the same sentences regarding of 'stop, drop and flail in case of angry peryton'.

It was lunch time and Luz, Willow, Amity and Gus headed to their usual table in the cafeteria. The atmosphere in the school was different from what it usually was. Instead of the rambunctious chatter and the clanging of spoons and plates, there were more hushed tones and worried whispers. The school was clearly on edge.

Luz didn't eat that much from her lunch tray, instead trying to parse out between what the guards say they saw vs what she found during her break-in during the night. It was Steve's suggestion that was of particular interest to Luz.

_'Werewolves. I knew they'd be a thing in the Boiling Isles, but she'd never expect that a werewolf could be THAT dangerous here, nor did she expect they were exterminated. There has to be some other big fuzzy critter that could also be the culprit, could it?'_

Her thoughts were interrupted by Willow.

"You're trying to figure out the monster, aren't ya Luz?"

"Yeah, I am. When I went to the museum at night, and saw what it did I was so upset. I also made a promise that I'd get to the bottom of this as fast as I can."

"Well Luz, like my father said, there's not much evidence we have right now, besides Steve and the other coven guards' testimonies. Maybe we could look at it at another angle? Like, I dunno, the monster's behavior or something? Like, most animals don't randomly attack heavilly guarded places without knowing it can win that fight" Amity suggested.

Wait a minute... Amity had a good point! Instead of trying to look at it from the scene of the crime as it happened, she'd look at it from the 'why' angle. WHY did the monster behave the way it did in the museum, and that gave Luz an idea!

"Guys, I got it. Since I share a class with the beast keeping coven, I think I know just the right kind of person that could help us figure out this mystery!"

"Who's that Luz?"

"Viney! She knows all about animals! If anyone can narrow down which critter could be the culprit, it's her!"

Everyone's faces lit up, looking at each other and nodding their heads in agreement.

"Awesome! I'll try to reach out to her when I can. Now, where should we meet up after school?"

"I know! The library! We could all look for books on monsters and stuff!" Gus suggested excitedly.

"Great idea Gus! Oh! Hey Amity, how about you come to the library as well? You're one of the smartest people I know, and you've been hanging around the library the longest, I'm sure you know all the best books from top-to-bottom!"

Unfortunately for Luz, Amity averted her gaze for a moment, an instant tell that Amity wasn't going to come. 

"I... can't. My father wants to teach me more advanced forms of abomination magic. He says it's of 'utmost importance' now, especially with a monster on the lose."

It broke Luz' heart to see Amity so dejected. Maybe it's because in Amity's world magic is mundane, but for her, what kind of kid would be sad about getting lessons from their parents?

"You sure Amity? Can't your parents let you be even a little late?"

"Absolutely not Luz. My father is pretty strict with his scheduling. He's been through a lot today, the very least I can do to help is be on time." Amity said with what can only be described as

"resignation".

Luz wanted so bad to convince Amity to come, but had a feeling that Amity didn't want to argue today. 

"Look Amity... if... if there's anything wrong... please. Just know that _we're_ here for you... **_I'M_** here for you..."

Amity looked up to Luz' eyes. Those eyes full of warmth and kindness that somehow, without fail, always find a way to worm its way into her heart. Snapping out of her reverie, Amity blushed heavily realizing that she had been staring a little longer than she would've liked. She silently thanked and cursed whatever higher being existed on this plane for Luz's habitual obliviousness, seeing that the human didn't seem to pick up on her fluster. It was both frustrating and endearing.

"Look, Luz... when I'm ready... I'll talk about it. Right now, I just don't want you get dragged into my family's drama."

By the look of Amity's face, Luz could tell that she'd rather much not talk about it today, and that was final. Luz took a deep breath, made a lengthy sigh.

"Oh... okay Amity, I won't push it any more than I have to. But seriously, if you need someone to talk to, you come find us."

Luz looked at Amity's own eyes. There's just always been something so fascinating about Amity's golden eyes, especially when she smiles. Most kids in Hexside only saw the icy facade, but Luz knew the truth. Beneath that mask, was a warm, kind heart. Luz didn't realize it, but she's been staring at Amity a bit longer than she should.

Before they knew it, lunch time was almost over, and many of the students were already leaving the cafeteria to attend their classes a bit earlier.

"Well, I hope you guys'll have a good time in the library Luz. I'm sure that by the time you're done, you're gonna have a lead on who or what the mystery monster is. See you tomrrow Luz."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Amity!" Luz gave a wink, a grin and big thumbs up.

 _'UGH! Why must you be so darn cute all the time Luz!'_ Amity simply blushed and gave a small smile before she was headed off her way to Abomination class.

Gus and Willow looked at each other as Luz and Amity had their earlier exchange. They silently nodded to each other before they went to their separate classes, and the both came to the same conclusion.

_'Yep. There's something there between 'em'._

* * *

As planned, the moment school was finished, the gang agreed to meet up and gather inside the Bonesborough Library, with the addition of one particular beast-keeping track student, Viney. Luz brought along her Bestiary of the Boiling Isles book for obvious reasons. If they were gonna find the culprit, they're gonna have to find all the references they can get.

"Thanks for inviting me Luz! Gosh, I didn't think you'd contact me to help you solve the towns' monster mystery!"

"You kidding? You're the most knowledgeable person I know when it comes to critters! You live and breath this stuff Viney! I mean, I may have the beastiary book, but you seem to get animals you know? I mean look at you and puddles!"

"Hah! Aren't you a charmer Luz! Though you gotta admit, it does say something about the monster if you don't think Animal Control is gonna cut it."

" _Trust_ me Viney, I don't think we're dealing with a regular run-of-the-mill monster here. When I broke into the Museum, you should've seen the claw marks. They cut through EVERYTHING in the museum."

It did make Luz wonder however... How come none of the guards, including Steve, had gashes on them? Bruises yes, but no gashes or claw marks. She could only imagine the grisly results if the beast DID use those claws on 'em.

"WOAH-HO! You seriously broke into the museum on your own Luz?"

"Yup! Let's just say I was looking for something that I really need in the Museum."

"Though in hindsight, she really should have thought about going in without backup..." Willow scolded Luz, folding her arms. Luz awkwardly rubbed the back of her head.

"Well can't say I'm too surprised by your spunk Luz! I mean, you ARE the gal who broke into Belos' Castle! Now, back on topic, I want everyone to gather around."

Luz, Gus and Willow huddled closer to Viney.

"Alright gang, what we need is more than just biology or demonology books, cuz even the best and most recent editions of Beastiaries are gonna have some holes in it. To REALLY understand a creature, you _gotta_ look at the stories that come WITH the beast, stuff like myths and legends."

"Oh I get it, from looking at old stories, we get a glimpse of what our ancestors admired most about 'em and see if they correlate to what we know of based on modern studies!"

"Yup! That's right Willow! You can find a lot of fact behind fiction! Stuff we write in our stories may actually gives us clues to what certain critters were like... especially ones we think are extinct." Viney winked at the last part.

Luz winked back, glad that she and Viney were on the same page.

"Next, we're going to have to find books on how to really deal with dangerous creatures like this one. The orientation was one thing, but we're gonna have to look at detailed info. Look what worked and what didn't in the past, and hopefully it'll work in the present."  
Luz, Willow and Gus nodded simultaneously. They knew exactly what to do. Luz then turned toward her two best friends.

"Okay Willow, Gus, you two search for books on mythology and survival guides. Viney and I are gonna look through the Beastiarium one-by-one to see what other kinds of critters could have totaled the museum."

"You got it Luz! We'll do our best!" Willow gave a thumbs up of reassurance.

"I'm _so_ excited! Following in my dad's footsteps as an investigative journalists! Or just an investigator like in those crime dramas!" Gus exclaimed.

He was promptly shushed by one of the Librarians.

"Oh.. sorry. Yaaaaaay" Whispered Gus, but with the same amount of enthusiasm.

With that settled, they each split up to find just the right materials to assist them on their monster hunt.

* * *

Luz, Viney, Willow and Gus all sat together in one of the tables of the Library, Willow and Gus reading a book that they thought would help in their search for the who the mystery monster could be, while Luz and Viney were still combing through the Beastiary. Willow brought '"Mythology of the Boiling Isles, 5th edition" while Gus brought "Wild Animal Survival Guide: Now with more creative ways to kick a Cockatrice!"

Willow managed to finish her book first, and was about to share what she learned.

"From what I got, most stories involving a big, super-strong, hairy monsters like the one that Coven guy in the news said usually involved three creatures. Yetis, Mountain Trolls and Werewolves."

"That's a good start Willow! Now, what's the most common thread you see in each of their legends?"

"Well, whenever Yetis are involved, they're almost always single stories, usually about a guy who got lost in the woods thinking that there's no such thing as Yetis... before meeting his demise by one."

"Ah. That makes sense, Yetis are typically reclusive. They HATE places with lots of people, so we can rule out Yetis being our culprit."   
Luz was impressed by Viney's confidence, she already knew the beast-keeping student was good, but Viney really _did_ have that aura of expertise when it comes to creatures.

"Mountain Trolls are bit more unpredictable, because while most of the legends and tall tales have them living under bridges, in caves or in the deepest parts of the woods, there's also a lot of stories of how they use the cover of the night to kidnap witchlings in their sleep. Plus, they're almost always, ALWAYS depicted as stronger than most demons and witches... except for that one with the goats".

Luz audibly gasped at that.

"Oh my gosh! I know that story! It's that fairy tale where the troll waits for the biggest, juciest goat, only for the biggest goat to knock him off the bridge! I can't believe it's a thing here as well" It's always fun for Luz to learn that stories form her world popping up here in the Isles.  
  
"Yup! That's the one!" For Willow, it never gets old seeing Luz all excited learning that some stuff in the Boiling Isles are influenced by human stories and vice versa.

"Good candidate! Plus, it's well known that many trolls prefer hunting at night... but there's one caveat..."  
Luz, Willow and Gus leaned a bit closer to Viney.

"You know why trolls are always in caves, bridges and any dark places you can think of? That's because most trolls are scared outta their wits by dragons, usually by being burnt to a crisp when a dragon swoops down to have some troll barbeque".

Luz could only imagine what roasted troll would taste and smell like, probably really disgusting. Speaking of dragons...

"Wait a minute, the Museum's Great Hall has a dragon fossil!"

"Yup! That's right Luz. Fossil or not, the moment that troll sees the dragon skeleton? It's gonna high tail out of there."

"So that leaves only one candidate left, the werewolf... and that's the one I'm a bit stumped on. The only consistent thing about werewolf stories are their weakness to silver. Everything else is WAY more inconsistent. Some werewolves are nice, some werewolves are bad, and some are just downright evil. They're not even depicted in the same way from one story to another."

" _Now_ we're getting somewhere interesting!"

Viney opened to the section on Werewolves in the Beastiary. To Willow's and Gus' amazement, there wasn't just one type of werewolf, but several 'species' of them!

The first figure was the classical werewolf, apparently the most common type depicted in the Boiling Isles' legends and mythologies. A classic combination of witch and wolf.

The second looked like something right out of a 50s horror movie. Apparently called "Wolf-witches", these werewolves were said to be the most reasonable of the bunch, recognizing themselves and

the people closest to them, but still succumbing to the instincts of a wolf.

The third were called "Wolf-walkers" and they were able to shift into a form that is completely similar to werewolves on earth, if slightly bigger.

The last werewolf however, was an absolute giant of a canine, and built like a brick house. It looked big enough to take on Eda in her Owl Beast form!

"It's like in the movies back home! There were like, soooooo many versions of werewolves where I came from, and it looks like all of 'em were based off these guys here!".

"As former head of the Human Appreciation Society, that is SO cool!"

"I know right? Now! All we have to do is pick and choose which of these fits Steve's description earlier! Then, we got our monster!" Luz was excited. If it all goes well and the monster turns out to really be a bonafied werewolf, they'll get a headstart on how to beat it.

"Wellllll... If any of these bad dogs are responsible, it's this big guy right here." Viney pointed to the largest species of Werewolf.

"The Sabertooth Great Wolf: the largest, rarest, and most powerful form of Werewolf. Said to be the destructive nature of Wild Magic given flesh, almost all poetry, art and eyewitness accounts highlighted the brutal and untamable nature of the beast. It had a diet exclusively of meat, and one Great Wolf was said to be capable of wiping out an entire Witch village".

To just illustrate how powerful the werewolf was, there was an entire two-page spread showing the different prey items of the Great Wolf, and nearly all of the boiling isle's heavy hitters were on the menu.

Unicorns, Greater and Lesser Basilisks, Slitherbeasts, Manticores, Griffons of all sizes, and even other werewolves were hunted by the Great Wolf. There was one picture that sent a shiver down Luz' spine.

An Owl Beast, almost identical to Eda's if not for its reddish hue, is about to have its throat ripped out by the Sabertooth.

_'If that means Eda were to go Owl Beast in the most unfortunate time... Then there's a good chance Eda might lose and-'_ No. Luz shook her head at even contemplating the thought.

" **Yikes**. If the monster that attacked the museum was a Sabertooth, then we're _really_ in trouble. I know that Luz and I beat a Basilisk once, but this thing ate Basilisks for breakfast, lunch _and_ dinner." Viney continued reading.

"Such was the Great Wolf's prowess for hunting, it was said only fully grown dragons were to able to consistently defeat Great Wolves. Meanwhile, defeating a Great Wolf in combat became something of a rite of passage for many of the Boiling Isles' ancient cultures. Giants wore wolf-skin as headresses, and there's numerous findings of jewelry and weaponry made from the saberteeth of the Great Wolf. In recorded history however, only one person has ever faced off a Great Wolf in single combat and lived.

The witch in question was Regina Blight, one of the previous matriarchs of the Blight Clan."

Luz froze at the name. Regina Blight. Now she has an even deeper understanding on what kind of crushing pressure Amity is in, it's not just her parents that she has to worry about. Her entire ancestry is looking at her, to make sure that she doesn't mess it up, to make sure that she can live up to and exceed the achievements of those that came before her.

_'And one of them just happens to be the ONLY person to EVER beat this thing one-on-one...'_

"Oh that's gotta be the one. In all stories involving THAT particular werewolf type, it's ALWAYS about it destroying, well, everything really." Willow pointed out.

"If that's the case, then this is most definitely our guy. Gus, go the "Werewolf" in the survival guide."

"Sure!" Gus gave Viney a thumbs up.

Flipping near the back of the book to the "W" section, Gus tried to found the 'subspecies' section in the Werewolf chapter. 

"Uh... Oooh boy."

"What is it Gus?" Inquired Willow.

"Okay, it says here _'though silver is consistently the weakness of all Werewolves, the Sabertooth Great Wolf's vitality means that it's been recorded to have shrugged off multiple silver-based arrows and even swords. Prior to Regina Blight's triumph, it was said that a Queen or King had to send several squadrons of hunters with an entire treasury's worth of silver to bring it down.' "_

Luz' eyes shot up at hearing that.

"Oh my gosh. So if we try to do the silver bullet thing like in the movies back on Earth..."

"We're just gonna to make it angry..." said a dejected Gus.

The four Hexside students were a bit of a loss. At this point they could only hope that it's one of the smaller werewolves subspecies, even as it seems very unlikely at this point.   
However, Luz put up a strong face. They put up through so much together, be it the Basilisk, the Monster Hunters, and even the Emperor himself, and no way is she gonna let the big, bad wolf let them down.

"Guys, I know this looks bad, but I swear, this isn't anything we can't handle. I mean c'mon, have some perspective! Yeah this guy is scary, but's what's a giant werewolf compared to Emperor Friggin' Belos?"

Willow, Gus and Viney perked up at that. Luz may not realize it sometimes, but she can pretty inspirational when she wants to be.

"I don't what's it going to take to find and like, beat this thing, but we're going to figure it out. It's going to lake a LOT of studying, and maybe we'll have to go to deep into the real seedy underbelly of the town to get info on the monster, but I know we got something. We already have a lead, and that means we can prepare even earlier!"

 _That_ did the trick. Willow spoke next.

"Luz' is right, we can't let it get to us. It may be the mightiest of all werewolves, but we now we know what to expect from it, something the coven guards didn't."

"Yeah, you could totally, like entagle his arms with thorns and super-sized vines, just like you did with the school! And I could serve as the ultimate distraction! I HAVE been practicing after all with my illusions!"

"And I can totally try and do my Viney charm on jumbo-the-dog here. Imagine that, the first witch to tame a werewolf in the modern age, Ha!"

"Plus, I'm sure that Werewolf won't see my glyph magic coming. The element of surprise is on team Hexside baby!"

Luz' heart swelled. She knows that it's not going to be as easy as she and her friends say, but she just _knows_ that that her friends understand the odds stacked against them. But she was absolutely confident, when push comes to shove, that they WILL beat the big, bad wolf.

She cannot wait to tell Amity what we found! Luz train-of-thought-halted at that point, thinking back to her green-haired friend.

Luz almost forgot that Amity was training with her dad. All she could hope for at this point is that her parents were good enough witches that they can teach her well enough to help Amity defend herself better...

But even so, she just can't help but be _worried_ about her...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all like my interpretation of Viney here, I wanted to get the vibe of someone who's knowledgeable beyond her years when it comes to beasts and animals, but with enough humor than she doesn't sound like a snob.
> 
> If y'all are interested, you can also find me on @nazrigar in both my tumblr, deviantart and my instagram, or @A3DNazrigar on my twitter!


	3. The Blight Name, and All That Comes With It.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Luz and the Gang were busy in the library, Alador was busy with a myriad of things. The incompetence of the museum staff, the choice words of his wife, mentoring his daughter... and losing to his own fiery temper. Meanwhile, his own past, with all its various transgressions and mistakes, are finally beginning to catch up to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooh boy! This is perhaps the HEAVIEST chapter. In here, you're going to see almost ALL of Alador's flaws, and what kind of person Odalia is... at the same time, you're also going to see Alador's attempts to be better as a parent as he slowly learns the errors of his ways.
> 
> Many other aspects of him however? It's gonna be a loooooooong road.
> 
> This is also... well... deeply personal, as someone who struggles with my own temper.
> 
> Warning though, there's also a LOT of shouting in this chapter.

_'Two Hundred Million Snails... gone. Just like that.'_ Was all Alador could think of when he and Odalia had met with the museum staff. It took him every inch of his self-control to keep his anger from boiling over the entire time.

He expected better of his security detail, they were supposed to be the elite of the elite. The Emperor's coven were supposed to be the Boiling Isles finest, and yet even they could not contain... the beast.

"Well... that could've gone better."

"Oh? Can it now?"

"Why yes. We could have simply asked that the museum manufacture or conjure up some replicas. I'm sure we have several pictures of the things that making exact replicas shouldn't be much of an issue..."

"Plasters of Fossils are possible, but the other artifacts within the museum that HAVE been damaged would need weeks or months or replicating every single small detail. Constant fixes to ensure absolute authenticity on every stone, every taxidermied specimen's pelt was authentic to the creature that they came from. The slightest mistake would cause the museum's prestige to plummet!"

"Ah... so you do have a keen interest in those... how did you call them... 'old bones and trinkets'. A shame that you could be so careless as to leave them so... inadequately protected."

Alador glared at his wife, both angered and perplexed at her accusation.

"Odalia, what are you implying?"

"What I'm saying Alador is that your negligence on providing adequate security to the Museum has consequences far beyond the institution."

"Odalia you can't possibly-"

"Oh but I _**can**_ , Alador. Do you know how embarassing it looks for our house that some of the best from the Emperor's Coven, the same people _you_ hand-picked to protect the museum including the _previous_ chief of security, was beaten by some common animal?"

"Odalia, this is a one-in-a-thousand chance. Surely the Emperor-"

"You made _us_ look weak Alador. You made the _**Emperor**_ look weak."

Alador bit his tongue. The consequences could be much more dire than he realized.

"I've tolerated your little pet project because I acknowledge the importance of putting up a good public face to curry favor with the rabble, hence why I poured some of my family's considerable funds into the damned thing, but what I will NOT tolerate is anymore needless and preventable mistakes from happening again. If some sort of disaster happens again on your watch, I will forbid you from calling any and all future investments without my approval. Is that clear?"

Alador grinded his teeth, though he kept his mouth shut. _'For Titan's sake... it's just ONE incident.'_

"Yes my dear."

"Good. Now, I am off to engage in much needed diplomacy with Belos, I'm sure he's none-too-pleased about the incident, and we need his support and favor if we are to rise above our competition."

 _'We? More like "I". It's always been that way for you, Odalia'_ Muttered Alador in his mind's eye.

"Oh, Alador, before I forget..."

"Yes, what is it dear..."

"Be sure to update me on Amity's progress so far. From what you've been reporting to me so far, I have deemed it much too slow. You're her blood Alador, I would have expected that you'd do a decent enough job teaching her as Clawthorne could. Covention was bad enough, and now a monster is on the loose, and quite frankly, after this incident, I can't afford to have my best and brightest be ill-prepared for any... _surprise encounters_."

At that very last word, Odalia gave her husband the coldest glare she could, all the warning he needed in case Alador, once again, failed to meet her expectations.

Odalia left then-and-there, feeling that what she said was enough as it is.

Alador could only stew in the hallways of the museum he built his legacy upon... a legacy very much in jeopardy.

'No. That is not even going to be a possibility. To think so would make me weak. I am not weak.'

He was a Blight, and Blight's only associate with the strongest. He was a _Beornson_ by birth... and Beornson's only pursued to be one thing and one thing only...

To be the strongest.

* * *

Amity looked at the portrait of her great ancestor Regina, which hung in one of the many, many hallways of Blight Manor. Sword plunging to the soil, her steely eyes gazed down at her fourteen year-old descendent, cold and unforgiving, as if judging Amity from beyond the grave. The werewolf king's pelt draped around her shoulders giving her an aura of authority and power quite unlike anything her family's seen since.

_'And she did it when she was a teenager, not much older than me. What have I done to compare? Well... I beat Grometheus... but only because I had Luz's help...'_

For most of her life, all the responsibilities of the Blight family was heaped on to her.

She had to be the smartest, had to be the best, had to be Ms. Perfect in every way. Thanks to Luz, she had a better understanding on just how meaningless 'status' and 'reputation' was in light of school-life.

But after dad showed her just one thing she'd be inheriting as well as the kind of legacy she had to live up to? She can't say quite the same about life after school.

"Amity. Are you ready?"

Amity turned around to see her dad, who has just arrived home. Amity assumed her mother must be somewhere else.

She paused for a bit just seeing how... tired her dad looked. The bags under his eyes were more pronounced than usual and his hair was much less well kempt than usual. Whatever went on in the museum, must have really rattled him, more than she thought it would.

"Father, I don't mean to be too nosy... but are you... okay?"

Alador just pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. After a minute or so, he let go and looked at his daughter.

"Let's... let's just say I have many things to consider. I'd rather not talk about them right now."

Amity only nodded. It's best not to try and dig to deep into what her dad was feeling.

"Alright Amity. For today's training session, I want you to head to the yard and do some warm-up spells. Today you are going to be attempting a particularly versatile abomination spell, and absolutely vital for the current... circumstances that are affecting Bonesborough. Are you prepared?"

"Of course father. I won't let you down."

"Good. I'll follow you shortly."

Amity headed off to the yard to practice, Alador looked the portrait of the former Blight Matriarch. Every time he sees that portrait, he can't help but feel... unwanted by that late, great, lady whom he now shares a name.

* * *

 _'Amity... I feel like we've been over this a thousand times.'_ Alador muttered to himself, seeing his daughter trying to solidify the abomination.

Alador always appreciated that his youngest child was an eager soul, always wanting to learn more about magic and always trying to her very best no matter what challenge... But today, something just feels... _off_. She's making mistakes, and frequently getting more frustrated than usual.

Sure, they are part of the learning process, but the very best of the best on the isles must be able to pick up on their mistakes and learn from them as soon as possible. And today, he very much does not appreciate mistakes.

Dealing with the mewling museum staff, firing its head of security for letting such a disaster take place, and Odalia's biting commentary on his entire being, made Alador's has sapped any and all patience for them.

"Amity... try again. I know you can do better than this. Just concentrate."

"I'm trying Father... Really, I am!"  
  
Alador was training Amity on how to adjust the density of the abomination, turning it from it's mud-like form into a more solid, rock-like form. In a fight, having an abomination that can deflect all manner of hard blows is extremely useful, plus by having a more solid form, it allows the abomination to hit much, much harder against would-be-foes.  
  
"You're trying too hard on trying to shape bits and pieces of the abomination. You have to look at the construct as a whole. You have to press the entire heaping mass to your will!"  
  
Amity doubled her efforts. The Abomination in began to congeal and contort, as if trying compress itself into a denser, more compact form. For just a moment, the abomination stiffened enough that Amity hoped that what she did was working.

Instead, the Abomination exploded in a purple, gooey mess, it's muck splattering all over both Blights, and with a wet slop, some of it landed on Amity's face. She wiped away the goop from her face, feeling both ashamed, sad, angry and disappointed in herself.

When she looked up, she froze. Her dad's arms were crossed, and his fine clothing were clearly ruined by abomination matter. From the look of his eyes alone, it's clear something within her father snapped.

"Amity... I'm _extremely_ disappointed in you."

"Father, I'm so sorry I-"

"Do you know what I had to go through today? Do you know how many snails I might have to shell out to fix the damage the monster did? Do you know how many priceless, irreplaceable relics that I paid for are now destroyed? At the very least you can do help my day is to do your best during training!"

"But father I am!"

Rationality and understanding was starting to leave Alador's mind, rapidly being replaced by the pent up frustration and anger he had for almost the entire day.

"Are you? Because I certainly do not! Where is the child I entrusted the leader of the Emperor's Coven to mentor? WHERE is the child that defeated that _ghastly_ grometheus?!"

"Wait... Dad that was-"

"Are you distracted Amity? I've never thought you'd be one to lose focus! I am doing this because I am TRYING to make sure my daughter is prepared for the worst."

"Please just listen-"

But Alador would have none of it. The infamous temper that Lilith was so concerned about took complete control over his thoughts like a poltergeist.

"It's the human isn't it? I should have known. I saw how you interacted with Edalyn's pet yesterday. Do you REALIZE the damage your galivanting with the human could cause us? And now look, you're unfocused and easily distracted. Your mother has been badgering me for months to try and-" 

Something in Amity snapped at that moment. Like a piece of dynamite that was being lit, it was only a matter of time that she'd explode in fury in front of her own father.

"WILL YOU JUST STOP AND LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE DAD!"

For the first time in years, Alador was stunned silent. Never did he ever think his youngest would raise her voice like this.

"I know what you're going to do Dad... Yesterday in the museum I knew you didn't want me to be friends with Luz... but I don't care. I'm not going to let you treat Luz like you did Willow!"

Alador was stunned silent. He _NEVER_ heard his daughter have an outburst like this.

"You want to know what happened in Grom dad? Luz and I... Luz and I beat the monster. Together. And I have NEVER felt happier! When I needed it most, when I NEEDED someone to help against Grometheus, it wasn't you or mom! It was LUZ!"

Alador's eyes widened at the thought. It was one thing to be friends... it was another to dedicate that much trust in someone to defeat something that literally preyed on one's fears.  
 _'_

 _No... Amity, what have you done? Don't make the same mistake I did...'_ Memories of a much happier time of his life being ruined by the responsibilities to his own family and his station began flooding in.

His trance was broken when he heard the distinct sound of sobbing. He looked down as saw his daughter clearly in tears and taking heavy breaths. While he was in his own state of shock, Amity vented her heart out.

"I... I'm not _YOU_ dad. I'm not this legendary abomination user that can summon abomination dragons from the palm of their hand. I'm still learning, and sometimes you and mom forget that. I am trying my best dad, really. I just... I just-"

"What Amity? _What?_ " His voice became barely a whisper.

"I just need a bit of help dad... I can't always BE perfect. I can't always EVERYTHING you expect me to do on my own. Luz sees that... _why can't you?_ "

At this point, Amity was truly crying her heart out, letting all her pent up frustrations burst out of the gate. It brought back memories of another one dear to his heart, who cried very much the same kind of tears. To see his flesh and blood this distraught brought back a voice buried deep within his subconsciousness. 

_'Another job well done. Crushing the heart of someone you care about.'_

A thousand thoughts were running through his head, and a hundred pained memories of his mistakes began piling up. Words keep getting stuck in his throat, as he just simply was lost in what he wanted to say.

It was Amity who broke the silence between them.

"Dad... I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to-"

"No Amity... It is... It is I who should apologize. I went too far."

By the look of Amity's face, she was as shocked as he was that an actual apology came out of his mouth.  
Alador knelt down next to his daughter. He conjured a simple spell circle, and from the ground he summoned a small, friendly looking abomination not much bigger than Amity. It waved.

"Amity, watch closely."

Amity wiped her tears away. She looked up and saw her dad next to her, trying his best to look reassuring. To calm Amity down further, he did something he hasn't done in years... He patted her shoulder, his own personal way of telling her it will be alright. Amity briefly stared in shock, then relaxed... if a bit perplexed by her dad's sudden change.

"Alright Dad... I will."

Alador outstretched his hand.

"Controlling the shape of an abomination is all about pressure, from my experience. If you apply too much pressure on it, it won't handle the strain. Knowing when to release pressure is vital when trying to get your desired shape from the abomination."

Amity could clearly see the subtle movements of her father's hand, slowly clenching and relaxing, clenching and relaxing. Each time the abomination looked more and more solid with each gesture. As Alador finally clenched his hand into a fist, the little abomination looked as if it was as solid as stone.

"Now. You try."

Amity took a deep breath, trying to muster as much courage as possible. She summoned a small abomination and did the exact same exercise as her father. It took a LOT more concentration from her, at times she worried she'd make the same mistake just like earlier. Each time however, instead of barking an order, Alador only said one thing.

"Relax."  
  
At last however, to Amity's great joy, she did it! Her little abomination was now rock-solid! In her excitement she'd tried to gesture her abomination to walk toward her... only for it to break its leg and crumble as its joints tried to move its stony body.

 _'Why? Why can't I do anything right?!'_ Amity screamed at herself in her own mind.

This time however, there would be no shouting, no arguing and no angry stares.

"It's fine Amity. You did wonderfully. We'll try to improve on it tomorrow, understood?"

Amity looked at her father, and for the first time in any of their lessons so far... she made a genuine little smile, and nodded.

Alador couldn't help but feel a little pride at that. He didn't realize it, but he too gave a warm smile to his daughter.

This tender moment was summarilly ruined by his scroll vibrating.

 _'Oh what now?'_ Muttered the Blight Patriarch.

Standing up once more, he picked up his scroll, about to give whoever is interrupting him a piece of his mind... then he paled. It was one of his clients, a Dr. Shrubsworth.

"Mr. Shrubsworth... I'm expecting the worst. Is it true? No Silverberry for how long!? Oh by the Titan, I NEED it for my-"

Alador looked at his daughter. He needed to say it carefully.

"For my relaxant elixir... just work with me doctor."

Amity stared at her father. She didn't catch all of what he said, but she felt like she heard enough to piece a few things together. 

_'He never said anything about an elixer. Is... is father sick? And why does he need Silverberry specifically?'_

Alador rubbed the back of his head in frustration. 

"Alright. I understand. Thank you for informing me Mr. Shrubsworth. Have a good day."

He closed the scroll and a made a loud huff in frustration. He sat down on the grass and stared at the yard with blank eyes that exuded utter disbelief.

Amity was stunned. Sure, she's seen her father upset or frustrated... but this is something else entirely. She had to press the issue, she has to understand what's going on with her dad.

"Dad... what did you mean by, elixir? Is it serious?"

Alador looked at Amity. There was a deep worry in her eyes, and at this point, it's best that he say something... carefully.

"Yes Amity. I am currently... taking medication. It's for my... anger issues. Even before the incident it's becoming more and more apparent that I have severe problems in controlling my anger."

"Oh my Titan, Dad... I'm so sorry! I didn't know it's gotten this bad..."

"Neither does your mother... nor your siblings. I either try to brush it off or bottle up my anger until it fades with time, but I realize it's detrimental to my health."

It was then Alador gave his daughter a most melancholic stare. He was desperate in a way Amity has NEVER seen him look in her entire life.

"Please. Keep this between us, alright Amity? If your mother were to hear of this, she'll consider me weak... or worse, a liability to this family."

"Dad... is there something going on between you and mom?"

"No, I assure you, it will come to pass. Simply a side effect of a disagreement we had earlier in the morning."

 _'He's lying.'_ Amity knew, but kept it to herself. For the sake of this family, for the sake of her dad, she'll keep things quiet for now.

"Alright dad... I won't."

"Thank you dear..."

Amity and her father sat silently for what felt like an hour, neither knowing what to say or what to do. Amity wanted to help somehow, but kept pulling up blanks in her mind.  
Then, she had it! But it's definitely, definitely not something her father would like. At all.

"Um... Dad... if you need silverberry I know a store that sells them not too far here..."

"Oh! Do tell Amity."

"It's uh... Willow's parents' place. They own a flower shop in Marrow Street. It's not too big, but you can see it a mile away. It's... very green."

Alador blinked twice. Then let out an exasperated groan. He is NOT going to enjoy this one bit.

'Titan, kill me where I stand...' 

* * *

The _Park Family Flower Shop_. A simple name for a simple store, Alador noted, and yet he can't help how much more... full of warmth this place had compared to the manor. The small shop was lined with a different array of flowers, from blood orchards to winter roses, each put in different pots of different sizes, each one suiting the needs of each individual plant. For such a small place, it was absolute brimming with love...

Never would he find the day he'd be jealous of a commoner's household.

_'Damn you Alador. What are you doing? You do not envy, especially toward commoners!'_

Still, he felt a twinge of humiliation that he's so desperate to find a bush of silverberry in the store owned by a family he once deemed unworthy of his family's presence.

He swallowed his pride, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

A voice, deep and strong, immediately answered.

"Well hello! How may I-" The man immediately paused, and his usual, friendly demeanor soured upon seeing the Blight Patriarch.

The man in question was one of Willow's fathers, a broad man with broad belly and big, burly beard. Alador knew him by the name of Guthrum, but they never really did see eye-to-eye on most matters. He could only imagine how he reacted when he and Odalia pressured Amity to end her friendship with Willow.

"It can't be..." 

"Guthrum. It's been a long time." Alador introduced himself with as little emotion as possible.

"Oh. It IS you..." Guthrum replied with clear contempt on his face.

Of all people that Guthrum would expect to come to his shop, never once did he expect Alador would be a patron, and quiet frankly, he'd much rather the Blight Patriarch to piss off and leave him and his family alone.

Benefactor of multiple institutions or not, this was the man who abused his position in any way he could, and as far he's concerned, he has forever earned his contempt for devastating his daughter's life.

Willow and Amity were the closest of friends, and then, in just one day, Amity decided to break their friendship forever? Children don't do that on their lonesome, unless pushed to do so by people who should know better.

"What are you doing here Alador? Be quick. I'm closing the shop soon." Guthrum tried put up a stern, but professional face in front of the Blight Patriarch.

"I am in need of a certain item within your inventory that is of much importance. I have no idea how you and your peasant family were able to obtain such a plant, but I will take my daughter's word for it. I am need of your Silverberry bushes."

"Silverberry? What on The Boiling Isles would you need it for Alador? It's a medicinal herb used in very specific potions, and considering your wealth, status and resources, I'd thought you'd have other ways to get it."

"My usual client says that they are out of stock, and they don't expect the leftover plants that they do store to be suitable for harvest anytime soon."

"Well I'm not surprised. Your kind have been ravaging the Isles for generations, you strip these sacred lands dry and not ONCE think about how it can be replaced or how IMPORTANT they are to folks like us!"

"What my insufferable colleagues do or not do is none of my concern."

"Insufferable? Oh I KNEW this would happen to you Alador."

"Know. what. Guthrum..." Alador spoke through clenched teeth.

"That you'd hate the life. I mean come on, look at you Alador. All that finery, but your eyes are as empty as a Snaggletooth's shell."

"You know nothing Guthrum. Do you know how much I provide to Bonesborough? You run a small little shop amongst hundreds in this city, I on the other hand help run the almost ALL the boroughs and precincts. It's MY money that sponsors countless businesses in this town. When all the other great families need funds for their projects, they come to the Blights! It is through ME and MY family that one of the great Landmarks of this town even FUNCTIONS. How DARE you presume I am not happy with my station!"

"Oh I'm not ignoring what you do for the town Al, but tell me this, have you ever considered those 'great' families to be real, family friends? People you know would have your back? People you know, when your family is going through hard times, would do anything to help you get back up?"

"I don't need affection or platitudes. Knowing that I am respected and feared is all the satisfaction I need."

"Oh? Then how are you and your wife? Be honest with me, can you REALLY say you're happy with her through all these years?"

Alador was silent, but he looked at Mr. Park as if though he wanted to incinerate the broader man on the spot.  
Guthrum was undeterred.

"I may not have wealth and power as you do Al, but I have love. My husband and our daughter gives me more joy than all your riches could ever bring. We never, EVER think about getting more of this-or-that just to keep up with damned appearances, unlike _you_."

Alador's continued silence was all the response Guthrum needed. He was winning, and the Old Dog didn't know how to refute him.  
Guthrum continued to press on. He's been waiting to say this to Alador for years.

"Do you know what your real problem is, Alador? You give up too easilly. Look at your marriage to Odalia for example. If you just confronted to her parents and your own, you could have been your own person, sharing a bed with someone you'd care about, rather than doing so to please the whims and petty ambitions of others!"

"I didn't have a choice in the matter. It doesn't work like that in our circle."

"But you do! You always did and you know it! You just never had to the guts to take that chance. Look a what you did to Lily! You threw her away because your father didn't see her going anywhere, and guess what? You did the EXACT SAME thing to Amity! You FORCED her to throw away her friendship with MY Willow because YOU gave up on them. You didn't even consider that she may have potential, the moment Odalia judged her unworthy, you didn't have the guts to fight back! Do you realize how DAMAGING that is, not just for my daughter, but for your own?!"

Alador's eyes shot up in fury. How DARE he bring up Lilith to him. How DARE Guthrum try to lecture how he raises Amity? What does Guthrum know about upholding a name and a reputation from the prying eyes of self serving snakes?! What does he know of having to deal with a wife that controls every aspect of his being? He's already sacrificed enough to get where he is now, and he will NOT be guilt-tripped by some Titan-damned peasant!

Alador reeled his arm back put the weight of his entire body into one single point. A fist. Aimed right at one of Mr. Park's eyes.  
Guthrum caught Alador's fist with surprising ease.

"Al... I may be old now, but if you even THINK that I've gotten rusty from my days as Hexside's Wrestling Team Captain, you are **_very_** mistaken."

But the very second those words came out of Guthrum's mouth, Alador used his free hand to put two jabs on the broader man. One in the gut, and one straight to the jaw. That second blow was so hard, Guthrum swore he could taste blood from his cheek. After the initial shock and sharp pain, Guthrum lunged with his free hand to grab Alador's shoulder hoping to grab it to throw the Blight off-balance.

This time it was Alador who caught Guthrum's giant hand by the wrist.

"And you seemed to forget, Guthrum, who brought the Senior League Boxing Championship Trophy to Hexside for three years running..."

It was a contest of sheer strength, and the two men were locked in a grapple like two Perytons during a rut, neither side wanting to relent one inch of ground to the other, even as their heels started to hurtfrom trying to dig their soles through the stone path.

Alador soon began breathing more heavilly, and not because he was out of breath. No, it was a much more harsher kind of breathing, coarse and rough, as if he were in deep pain, as if his very lungs were burning.

Guthrum flinched for a bit, slightly aghast at Alador's sudden turn. This was all Alador needed to make one final push and practically throw the former wrestler to the ground to end their little tussle.

Alador began searching his coat frantically, as if his very life depended on it. Sweat started beading from his forehead profusely.

When he finally reached his inner pocket, Alador's hand was shaking violently as he tried to unplug the cork of a vial. The vial was an eerie blue that glowed with magic. An elixir of sorts, but one that Guthrum can't quite recognize.

Frustrated, Alador bit down on the cork rather than using his hands, and pulled it out with his teeth and spat the damned thing away. He proceeded to drink it down like a witch deprived of water after days in a desert.

It took a few minutes for the elixir to do its work, and only then Alador's breathing started to calm.

Guthrum looked in shock, not sure what exactly was going on with the Blight. In fact, he's never seen Al act this way in years. Sure, Al always had a temper, but never did he lose his composure THIS bad. The broader man proceeded to get up and dust himself off before questioning the Blight patriarch.

"Al... what was that? That doesn't look like any potion I know."

"It's my... medication. Helps control my anger."

"Is that why you need my silverberry bush?"

"... Yes Guthrum. It indeed is."

Guthrum breathed a heavy sigh. _'I knew his temper would've caught up to him. It's not healthy in the long run.'_

Alador glared at Mr. Park, knowing that just from his eyes Guthrum is already judging him.

"Wait here Al. I'm going to go inside for a bit"

Alador silently complied. There wasn't much he could do right now, and he can't afford  
Guthrum exited his shop with a pot of perhaps the most immaculately taken care of silverberry bush Alador has every seen. Silverberry, as its name suggests, produces fruit of a silvery-hue, while the plant itself tends to be a bit more muted, with white stems and gray leaves. Guthrum's silverberry bush however, practically glowed in its pristine condition, the stem and branches were whiter than marble and the leaves had a luster unlike anything he had seen from his usual vendors.

"Here, Alador, a bush of Silverberry. One of only two that I have."

"How... how were you able to keep it so-"

"Healthy? Easy Al, because I don't think about how much cash these plants will make me. I take care of them to my absolute fullest because taking care of them, and seeing them grow healthy and full of life is what gives me the greatest joy, and pushes me to keep on trying to make them even better everyday. THAT'S what gives it its value Alador."

"I... see..." Guthrum's words weighed heavilly on Alador's mind.

"Alright Guthrum. You've made your point. Now... how much?"

"Absolutely nothing."

"What? Do you know how valuable that plant is?"

"Yes Al. I definitely know it's worth, but I'm giving this to you because it looks like you need it more than I need cash."

"But... why?"

"Because you're ill Al. I may not like you, but I hate the thought of forcing you to pay for something that you seem to desperately need for your health."

Alador was silent. He felt a bit humiliated that he's, essentially, being pitied by Mr. Park. But a small, tiny piece of himself, one that he thought buried so long ago, was making him feel something else entirely.

Gratitude. _Genuine_ , gratitude.

"Just take it Al. Swallow your pride for a bit, just this once." Guthrum was losing his patience with Alador's silence, thinking it's his high-school level pig-headedness getting in the way.  
Alador sighed.

"Fine... Thank you. Guthrum."

Guthrum's brows raised slightly, never would he thought in a million years would Alador Blight himself actually thank him for anything.

"Alright Al... you're welcome. But I HAVE to tell you this, Silverberries are delicate plants, you have to watch over it daily. Water it once a day, make sure it's no more than a measuring cup's worth of water. Look for any bugs or parasites that would want to munch on the leaves. Oh, and be careful with its day and night cycle. It's something that only a few of us know... but for Silverberry to truly thrive, it needs moonlight on top of sunlight. That's how you get most of its magical potency."

Alador took heed of every word Guthrum spoke of. He already knew the real meaning behind it, not just simply taking care of a plant. It was about how one must nurture something to reach its fullest potential.

He hoped that window hasn't passed yet, as with so many windows of his life had.

The Blight Patriarch looked at the humble shopkeeper, and gave a simple nod. One part courtesy, another part genuine respect to the man.

As Alador begins to go back to his manor, Guthrum can only hope that he got through Blight's thick skull. The affluent, self-absorbed as they were, rarely changed their ways, but Guthrum had a good feeling this was going to be different.

He can't help but notice however... when Al was at his angriest and bared his teeth, he could have swore that the Blight's fangs were much, much longer than it should be...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is going to be Eda and Lilith-centric!
> 
> If y'all are interested, you can also find me on @nazrigar in both my tumblr, deviantart and my instagram, or @A3DNazrigar on my twitter!


	4. Two Witches and a Witchling.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a perfect day, until it wasn't. After a potion revealed just what transpired during the Museum, Eda and Lilith head off to the market, to find some ingredients for a beast-warding potion. Meanwhile, Lilith can't help but have suspicions on just who exactly is the monster in question.
> 
> Within the market itself however, they happen to stumble upon a most unexpected individual...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The LONGEST chapter, which is ironically meant to be the shortest.  
> It was supposed to be just a fun time trip with Eda and Lilith... but I HAD to add some emotional stuff.

Today was the rarest of days in the Owl House, a day with perfect weather. It was a bright blue day, but the sun wasn't searing hot, with enough clouds to provide some shade but not dark enough for boiling rain to come down on the house (without magic, those days were a pain in the ass). School meanwhile, was cancelled, not for any reason involving the beast incident, but because of a mess up in the potions track involving sugar, a bit of spice and heaping load of rather not-nice things.

In such a perfect day, Luz volunteered to make lunch (chimichurri burgers! Just like home, now with a local, boiling isles flair!), while Eda and Lilith were busy making a potion just outside the door.

"So what exactly _ARE_ we makin' sis?"

"A simple forensics potion. Back when I was in the Emperor's Coven, whenever we had no leads on who or what commited a crime or disturbance, we'd conjure up this potion to try and get the best possible mimic-abomination for a culprit! It's a mix of abomination, potion and oracle magic."

"Wish I still had some of my magic, mixing this dang thing would've been faster. But hey! The ancients had to start somewhere right? Trusting good ol' intuition and the magic within every single ingredient!"

It's been a few days since the incident, and Hooty indeed ratted out both Luz and Lilith venturing into the Museum. Much to the duo's surprise, Eda wasn't as furious as they expected her to be. She knew Luz could handle herself quite well without her; the kid's daring rescue back at Belos' castle very much proved that. As for Lilith, Eda was moved by her sister's obvious concern for her apprentice that it made it impossible to stay mad at her. Still, Eda was beside herself with worry and she had firmly told them that if they were going to do something that reckless again she better be in on it.

"You know, you'd think that the Emperor's Coven would find out the monster right now with this thing."

"It's actually more tedious than one would think! Many times potential evidence is corrupted by traces of multiple culprits, so the end result would at times be muddled... Plus it helps that I nabbed all the most useful clumps of fur. The Potion works at its best with more ' _concrete_ ' source material" Lilith winked.

"HA, that's pretty sly of you Lily!" But as Eda was about to pat Lily on the back for hoodwinking the Emperor's Coven, a thought came to her.

" _Wait a minute_ Lily... If you left it there, then the monster would be the Coven's problem. That's one less problem outta our hair."

Lilith was silent for a moment.

"Let's just say Edalyn... We don't REALLY know who the victim might be. It could just be an animal, lost and confused. It could be an innocent student who messed up on his or her homework! I cannot in good conscience let another potential innocent be a victim to the coven. The sentence could very well be... petrification."

Of course, there was one other reason why Lilith nabbed the evidence for herself, but refused to divulge it to Edalyn just yet. She didn't know why, but in her bones she felt the culprit could be someone she knows quite deeply.

Eda, none the wiser, just gave the biggest, proudest smile she could give to her older sister.

"Look at _you_ Lily! A few months outta the Emperor's Coven, and here you are, looking for the little guy and people like me. I'm proud of you big sis."

Without warning Lilith rushed to hug her baby sister. To hear it straight from her was validation unlike any other. It will be long time until she'll ever truly forgive herself, but to hear it from Eda that she's changed gives her a huge amount of hope.

"Now, back to the potion... why are we outside again?"

"Because I remember at times, the subsequent mimic abomination would get... well... messy."

"Ha! Oh Lily, this totally reminds me of school! You were great at knowing all the ingredients, but you neeeever seemed to get the mix juuuuust right."

"...Ha-ha... very funny Edalyn"

"Come on Lilyyyyy, you know it's true! I mean come on, WHO'S the one mixing the potion here? Spoon, ladel and everything! Hmmmm?"

"...You are."

"Exactly!"

Lilith really couldn't argue at Eda's skill in potion making. She always had that magic touch when making them, by instinct the right amount of ingredients, never too much, never too little, and she always knew when she mixed too quickly or too slowly. Soon the green mixture within the cauldron turned into a light bluish-green, signifying that the magical properties of each ingredient has been blended together perfectly.

"There, that should do it!"

"Not quite. We need another ingredient. Before we place the fur in the cauldron, we need petals of a forget-me-flower."  
  
"Ah, I get it! The properties WITHIN the flowers prevents traces of you getting mixed with the fur.  
  
"Indeed Edalyn! I didn't think you'd know, considering, well, no one outside the Emperor's coven would go near the things."  
  
"Ugh, let's just say it involved a party, an ex-boyfriend and the WORST hangover I ever had... But wait, we don't have any of that! I haven't gotten anymore of 'em since the party. Darn things take FOREVER to bloom."  
  
"Oooohhh... I have my resources."  
  
Just then, bursting from the trees forests outside the Owl House, came a Steve marching with unforseen confidence and pride. His chest was puffed out, his head held high, and carrying a bag of petals... and a flyboar gnawing on his leg.

" **I HAVE OBTAINED WHAT YOU HAVE REQUESTED OF ME MS. LILITH** " Boasted the Coven Soldier.

Following right after him were two particularly disgruntled guards. Tim and Jim as they were called, were some of guards still loyal to Lilith, and still respected her enough to help out whenever they could. This time however, by the look of their expressions under their masks, they clearly did not enjoy being Steve's sidekicks in this adventure.

"Hey Ms. Clawthorne. Can we please like... never hang out with Steve. Ever?" Said Tim.

"Oh Tim. Steve couldn't possibly been that much of a hassle."

"He has a flyboar munching on his leg and he's not even flinching. You have no idea how angry they get when they're looking for nectar..."

"BUT I TRIUMPHED! And that's all that matters." Boasted Steve. He looked at the offending boar-fly hybrid, wrenched it from his leg and punted it hard enough to crash land into one of the tree canopies.

"Very good Steve!" Lilith patted Steve on the head, who danced with excitement in making his ex-coven leader happy.

"Uh... can we be dismissed now Ms. Clawthorne? We're... kinda scared some of the other guys would notice we're not at our posts. It's been like... I dunno a few hours?" Asked Jim.

"You are dismissed Jim and Tim. You too Steve. I know you want to hang out with... **_ugh_** , Hooty... to discuss trivial nonsense, but I'd much rather you go back to your usual station. Don't want to get you in trouble."

It was then, Hooty IMMEDIATELY crept up in front of Lilith with the most obnoxious looking "sad" face.

"BUT-BUT... I SET UP THE TEA AND EVERYTHING!"

"I'm sorry Hooty, but Lily's right. Steve's basically our eyes and ears with what's going in the coven... even if he is a bit of a moron. If he gets caught, that's one less pair o' eyes to look out for as to what Emperor Belos and his toadies are planning."  
  
"AWWWWW."  
  
"I'm sorry noble Hooty! But alas, I am needed elsewhere! Steve, out!" And like that, Steve backflipped his way back into the forest. Jim and Tim opted to walk on the dirt path instead... like regular people.

"...I'm not gonna lie Lily. Steve gives me the creeps sometimes."

"YOU! Who lives in a house demon, which by the way is probably the most obnoxious creature on the planet... Thinks one of MY former subordinates to be too weird for your liking?"

"Hey, Hooty is naturally weird. Steve is... well. After you left the coven, how does a guy become MORE moronic, but MORE capable at the same time?"

"Believe me when I say just let Steve be himself. You should the rest of his family, I swear him, his father, his brothers and his grandfather are all clones of each other."

"See! There's something messed up about the guy!"

Lilith simply stuck her tongue out at her little sister, who promptly did the same with an added "nyeh". Wanting to focus back on the potion, Lilith promptly added at least five petals into the mixture. The rest can be dried and used for whatever potion Eda would probably make use. Ever since the portal was destroyed, the next best source of income was what Eda did best back in Hexside... making potions.

The petals instantly reacted to the mixture, turning it into a glowing cyan. This indicated that the potion was ready.

Lilith took one last look at the fur. This was the moment of truth, to figure what kind of creature this thing really is. Her instincts told her to dump the whole batch into the cauldron, but another part of her opted to save some for later. Lilith pinched and sprinkled a few strands onto the mixture, rationalizing that saving a few strands of fur would prove later, perhaps when they figure out a more precise identification method...

The strands of fur landed softly into the cauldron, dissolving inside the liquid faster than it takes to blink.

For a solid five seconds the cauldron was silent... before it roared to life in a mass of bubbles and steam. It made an audible _growl_ of an woodland creature going berserk.

"By the Titan, Lily is this normal?!"

"By Asterion's Wings no! Not at all!"

The potion/abomination mixture proceeded to burst of the cauldron violently as an active volcano, and the heaping mass splashed itself onto the floor. It writhed and twisted as it tried to give itself a form... and once it did it gave the most freakish howl both sisters ever heard.

Its limbs started to solidify, and it grew the eyes typical of an abomination... but it's mouth and hands was beginning to form the beginnings of what could only beeth fangs and claws.

Luz burst out of Hooty in a panic, thinking the Owl House was being attacked.

"Eda! Lilith! What's going on? I was finishing up the chimichurri and- HOLY CRUD! WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!"

The Cyan Mirror-Abomination finally assumed its designated form. Towering over all of them, it took the form of a mighty Sabertoothed Great Wolf, its roars shaking the very forest down to its roots.

The Wolf-Abomination snapped at everything around it, stuck in a constant berserk state, flailing its massive arms and anything and everything... then starting trying to tear itself apart, clawing at its own head as if something is trying to pry something out of its skull. All it could do was fling out chunks of abomination goop off itself.

Luz, Eda and Lilith were at first too stunned to do anything. It's one thing to summon an abomination, and another to see an abomination to look as if though if it's in deep pain.

It only stopped its mad flailing the moment it laid its eyes on Lilith. The abomination-beast approaced her slowly... and to both Lilith's shock and horror... tilted its head around as if it's attempting to remember something. As the beast crept closer to Lilith, it reached out with its hand ever so slowly.

It was at this moment, Luz was snapped out of her state of shock and tried to think of something fast.

"Hooty! You're the biggest and the fastest thing we have right now! Stop the abomination-thing before it hurts Lily!"

"OH! SURE THING LUZ! HOOTY GO SMASH!"

The House Demon proceed to extend its tube-neck as far as it could to the sky, before swinging himself down like a massive axe.

The sheer force of Hooty's attack was enough to splatter the mad abomination. Countless bits of abomination goo were sent flying everywhere.

"Well... that was something. Ain't that right Lily?"

Lilith didn't reply... she was stuck frozen in place, and breathing heavilly.

"Lily... Lily! Oh my Titan, Lily!" Concern flooded through Eda's thoughts. Eda feared Lilith was going catatonic. Whatever that wolf-abomination-thing did must have triggered something in her older sister. Or worse... thinking that she'd hurt Eda and Luz; if she thought that, she would NEVER forgive herself for it, and Eda could only imagine the psychological spiral it would cause Lily.

"Lily... look at me. It's okay. I'm here. No one's hurt. See?" Eda held her sister gently by the shoulders. She repeated as much as she could until she could get a reaction out of Lilith.

At last Lilith's breathing started to relax.

"It-it... it recognized me... the beast... recognized me..."

Both Eda and Luz were taken aback. The tension began to ease off her body but as she rested a hand on her chest she could feel her heart continue to palpitate. From the fear of the abomination nearly wreaking havoc upon on all the inhabitants of the Owl House or the fact there seemed to be a spark of recognition within the beast's eyes when it looked at her, she couldn't quite place which disconcerted her more.

"Lily, from what I saw, all I could see was an angry goop-dog-thing wanting to have a nibble on my older sister. You SURE you saw something?"  
  
"Edalyn... you know very well that abominations are capable of complex thought, how could this be any less believable?"  
  
"Sentient abominations that I summoned causing a riot is one thing... Insane, freaked out abomination trying to tear its own brains and guts out before trying to eat my sister? WHOLE 'nother ball park there sis."  
  
"But Edalyn, I saw it in its eyes... It was peering right at me. I know mirror-memories are strong but... the way it looked at me was as if it was trying to remember something buried within its replicated mind. For Titan's sake, it reached out to me Edalyn!"

Luz ran up to the two sisters. She needed to get her own piece in.  
  
"Lilith... I have NEVER seen an abomination do that. I've only seen Jerbo and Amity's abominations, and none of them went THAT crazy. You said it yourself, that wasn't normal."  
  
"They never looked all that... agonized. Usually in forensic the abomination would imitate only the actions they did when the evidence was collected. It be could be as simply walking by and dropping something by accident. But this? I can only imagine what the beast was thinking about when it was in the museum."  
  
 _'It must have felt alone and scared, and judging by how much it writhed and tried to scratch out its skull... it must have been struggling with... itself.'_ Lilith pondered to herself.  
  
There was an awkard silence.  
  
"Well... at least we KNOW it's a werewolf! The abomination looked exactly like how werewolves like in my book!"

"Yes... a Sabertooth. Those were rare even before the time of the Emperor. Back in the coven, we all thought they were done for... I guess that's not the case."

"Pff, I'm not surprised Belos' band of idiots could miss one, I mean come on, you honestly think that those morons could vanquish a _Great Wolf?_ It's the top dog among top dogs, that thing probably ate other werewolves for breakfast."

"It ate ANYTHING Eda, minus dragons..." The drawing of the Sabertooth Werewolf biting the neck of the bird beast was still fresh on her mind.

There were was small pause as everyone tried to process just what exactly transpired today. They and they alone knew it was a werewolf, and each were thinking several things at once. For Eda it was trying to figure just how to fight the damn thing without magic. For Luz it was trying to figure how to keep Eda and everyone safe. As for Lilith? It was more about WHO was the werewolf in question, all the stories only talk about Great Wolves being savage, powerful and merciless... never one struggling with itself.

"That's it. We're going to the market today" Eda was the first to break the silence.

"On such short notice?"

"That's right Lily. We're not gonna take the risk just standing around here. That thing's gonna be somewhere out there tonight and is probably looking for things to munch on. Demons, Monsters, People, you name it. Hooty's good, but I'm not taking any chances."

"And without magic... Our chances of successfully engaging the creature is slim-to-none..."

"I have magic! Plus I bet that wolf never seen glyph magic before!" Luz argued

"But is it enough against the wolf without a sufficient amount of silver?" Lilith questioned back.

Luz couldn't reply. _'Darn it. I knew she'd bring that up... And this wolf was a basically the tankiest wolf in existence!'_

"So what do you have in mind Edalyn?"

"Ingredients for a warding potion. Y'know, Beast Repellant! But the extra, extra strong variety to REALLY get under a hound's nose."

"Ah. The one with an added mix of Horrorsbane and grounded bonnacon horn?"

"That's right Lily!"

"Can I come with Eda?"

"No Luz. You stay here, I want you to make sure that King doesn't do anything reckless tonight. I'm sure he's picked up all this talk about werewolves and is probably going to look for places he _really_ shouldn't."

And right on cue, the door slammed open to reveal King in all his adorable, if much too stubborn glory.

"What's this about some werewolf!? I, the King of Demons fear no hound! If this wolf were to face me, I will make him BEG to be my servant!"

"See, Luz?"

"Awwww... Okay. But next time, I'm DEFINITELY coming along. Maybe I'll even bring King along so he won't feel lonely!"

"Aight, but you're going to keep an eye on him extra carefully. Don't want him to be doggie chow."

At that, King gasped.

"How DARE you assume, that I the King of Demons, would fall to such an inferior being!"

"Okay King, that's enough. Today it's just gonna be you and me! Luz and King! We're gonna have SO much fun!"

"Awww... alright Luz. I hope we play Twisty again!" And with that, King went back inside with a slight nudging from Luz.

"Okay Lily, I'm gonna head inside and get our staffs. You get our 'emergencies only' bag of snails. Didn't think we'd need it so soon!"

"Of course Edalyn. I'll be right behind you."

Before Lilith went inside however, she paused for a moment, an idea came to her head that she hoped would help with her suspicions. She knelt down to Luz's height, and with a whisper, asked for the help of Eda's apprentice.

"Luz. Can I ask you for a favor"

"Oh! Sure... what you want me to do?"

"While we head out to the market to Can you please look at your Bestiary once more, and take note of any note of, _'unusual'_ coat patterns. Check any kind of wolf subspecies you can fine, from Dire Wolves all the way to Werewolves."

To any other person, this would be an odd request, but Luz could pick up a hint of, what's the proper word? _Urgency_ in Lilith's voice. Wolves came in all sorts of colors back home, but perhaps there's more to it here in the Boiling Isles.

"Sure thing Lilith! Ooh! Maybe even King could help! He IS a demon, and he probably knows some extra stuff about Werewolves!"

"Thank you Luz. You don't know how much this means to be."

For Luz, that was all the confirmation she needed, and now she's going ramp up the sleuth-mode a hundred and fifteen percent. 'Uh-huh. I'm DEFINITELY gonna be reading in between lines for this one.'

With staff-and-emergency-only-bag in hand, the two sisters were headed off to Bonesborough. Luz meanwhile stretched her fingers and prepared for a long afternoon's worth of reading.

* * *

"Edalyn... have you ever seen the Marketplace this. Well... crowded?"

"Only on Holidays."

The marketplace was a LOT more crowded than either sister was expecting. Weekdays were usually more mellow due to the fact most witches were at work or in school, but today it was a different case.

The market was overloaded with customers and passerby's.

After days of no progress on who-or-what is responsible for the museum incident, paranoia has gripped good portions of Bonesborough's populace. Rumors of large, strange creatures lurking in the shadows, or unconfirmed sightings of abnormally large paw-prints weren't helping with the situation. With Hexside's classes cancelled, one can also be assured that concerned parents are also looking for any possible solution and warding agent to prevent animal attacks.

Eda and Lilith were sure that any suspicious guards who were more loyal to the Emperor would be too busy with the crowd, but they brought their hoods just in case.

"There must be a way to get through this crowd and get what we need. Jeez look at this!"

"I think I may have found a solution Edalyn..."

There was a fairly small guard, if not in girth but definitely in height, trying to do his best to make sure all patrons were in an orderly cue. She could definiely recognize from his voice that it was one of the same guards who accompanied Steve to find forget-me flowers, Tim.

The two sisters approached the very busy guard, with Lilith tapping him on the shoulder.

"UUUGH Caleb, what now-OH! Ms. Lilith!" Tim gave a salute. It's a small gesture in Lilith's eyes, but it gave her an immense amount of pride.

"Greetings Tim, you look much better than earlier today. How did you manage to clean up so quickly? And un-dent your mask?"

"All thanks to Sally over there! She's the best! She offered to tidy up my uniform no questions asked!" Tim pointed to his right, where a coven member that looked much like Steve was offering drinks to customers that were bored and sweating under the sun. Sally waved back at Tim's direction.

"I see! She was always ridiculously hospitable. Now what happened to Jim? Surely he's here helping with the rest."

"Uhhh... yeah. He's totally helping... in his own way."

Eda and Lilith could hear a shout to their left. It was Jim arguing with a customer who cut in line in a potions stand. Losing his patience, he proceeded to lift the offending man, and planted him right behind the lady who was in front of him, bellowing out "AND YOU WILL STAY THERE LIKE A GOOD CITIZEN!".

"Yeesh. Can't believe I'm feeling sorry for the guards, Lily. Sure we know some of 'em, but still, if you were to tell me I'd feel sorry for some of them a few months ago I would have laughed."

"It is indeed a bit... well, much. I can't believe only a few days would have Bonesborough in this much a frenzy."

"If you ask me Ms. Clawthorne, I kinda blame social media. So how can help you and your sister?"

"If you don't mind Tim, we would like to find an area where it's not too crowded, and one that's more leaning toward potion ingredients. And just in case, an area with guards and coven members that WON'T try to catch Edalyn and I. One has to keep a sharp eye for Belos' loyalists."

Tim thought long and hard, because honestly, from what he can tell, nearly all the market squares have been quite packed. He DOES however now a square that's kinda servicable, and is mostly stationed by guards who, while not on Steve's level of adoration, at the very least respect the Clawthorne sisters.

"Okay, I think I know the place. It's a straight line from here until you reach "Malcontar's Meat Shop", when you reach there, turn right and keep walking until you're past "Toby's Potions", you'll reach a square lined up with mostly herb-sellers and potion-makers, there you're gonna find most guys still loyal to you or are cool with Eda. Best of all, it's pretty close to an exit, in case you need a quick getaway."

"Thank you Tim. My sister and I appreciate your help."

"No Problem Ms. Clawthorne. Anything for you!"

With that, Lilith gave a light hug of encouragement to the lowly guardsman. She'll always be grateful that, no matter what, at least some of her subordinates sticks by her through thick and thin.

"Uh... wow... What do you call this parallel arm thing?"

As Lilith was about to speak, Edalyn shoved her away to brag about her awesome insight of human social cues.

"It's what a human call a _hug_! The GREATEST form of appreciation in all the human realm! I should know! My apprentice showers it to me ALL the time."

Tim gasped in amazement. He took a mental note to work even harder to please Ms. Clawthrone. In his years of being one of the Emperor's guards, he NEVER got anything close to this thing called "hugs."

"Always a showboat..."

"It's not showboating if you back it up!"

"It's STILL a form of showboating Edalyn!"

The two sisters bickered all the way as they followed Tim's instructions. Just as he described, the two sisters were greeted by a vast square of shops and stalls all selling a variety of different goods and potions for members of all coven types.

Some sold seeds for plant covens, others pieces of herbs and ground up minerals for abomination types. Some were potion makers who basically had a large itinerary of potions for anyone and everyone.

Today however, and the days since the Museum attack, it's the beast-keeping stores that were absolutely overloaded with customers, so much so, that it was tough for everyone to remain on que, and there was much pushing and shoving in order to get the best materials.

"Aw nuts. Looks like we have to wait in line to get what we want. I was kinda hoping we'd get lucky and there's at least ONE stand that doesn't have a que."

"We ARE lucky Edalyn. Compared to earlier, this is practically manageable."

Eda shrugged, muttering 'but still'. To save time, the two sisters decided to stand in different lines to get a different set of ingredients.

* * *

"Did every vendor jack up the price of everything on this list or is it just me?"

"It's to be expected Edalyn. A monster has eluded every single wrangler, covenmember, and bounty hunter in Bonesborough and all the closest cities. Even Glandus is issuing warnings."

"That bad huh?"

"Indeed. With it, more people are trying to find spare spells or potions to ward off monsters and other giant beasts... and to complicate things even further, the art of warding-off Werewolves has been lost for decades."

"Well thank the Titan we saved enough cash that we'd still have at least some money left over... thanks to you... you penny pincher."

"It's not penny pinching, merely divesting some of our profits for emergencies Edalyn, just like this one."

Eda made a growl akin to an annoyed cat. "You win this one sis. Okay! So we got two hundred grams of blightshrooms, fifty grams of grounded bonnacon horn, dried firepepper seeds and of course, that bane of dire wolves everywhere... Lavender!"

"That leaves only one ingredient left... Horrorsbane petals."

"Well what do you know! I know exactly the guy for this! A dude named Saltsburry usually has the zaniest dried flower petals. Even claims he has stuff from Earth! Can you believe that?"

"Honestly no..."

"Same! But in everything else? He's always honest. If you want exotic petals on the cheap, then it's him!"

"I trust your word on this Edalyn. Please, lead the way."

Eda nearly bounced in place, animated at the thought of some much needed quality time together and the idea of taking charge over her older sister for once. She was about to march forward with Lilith hooked on one arm only to get abruptly pulled back. Eda bit back an annoyed yelp as she stumbled, later catching on to the tell-tale signs of fear and uncertainty gracing Lilith's features. She followed her line of sight until they landed on a familiar young green-haired witchling surveying an assortment of goods not far from where they were. 'Oh' Eda thought, slumping her shoulders. Even now she could feel Lilith's pulse quicken as she held her by the wrist.

"Well would you look at that, it's Baby Blight! What a coincidence eh, Lily!?

"Why yes... indeed Eda.."

 _'Oh boy. Here we go. We TALKED about this Lily!'_ Eda groaned in frustration.

"Lily, go there. It's about time you start talking to her."

"But Edalyn, I promised I would give the girl some space-"

"But Lily, YOU want to reconcile, and the only way you're gonna start DOING that is by, you know, actually talking to her one-on-one."

"But Edalyn I-"

"No, no, no Lily. You've GOT to start the conversation. Now. It's the perfect time to do so. There's no Al to make me angry, no Odalia to make _YOU_ angry, and by the looks of it, almost no guards to snitch us out, and the ones that ARE here are pretty busy themselves."

Lilith gulped in fear... But Edalyn was right. There's only so much time for delay. She has to start making things right to her former protege. Now. Lilith nodded to Eda, who gave her a thumbs and a forceful pat on the back. Lilith yelped at the force Eda put in.

"THAT'S the spirit Lily!"

Lilith approached Mr. Saltsburry's stand. Unlike most of the other vendors, Saltsburry's stand was unusually light on patrons, meaning that it's possible she and Amity could chat at the same time while ordering exotic items. 'It is as if though the Titan is trying to send me a message no doubt'.

The elder Clawthorne took a deep breath. 'I can do this' Lilith told herself. She approached the stand in a slow and steady pace. By the time she reached Saltsburry's stand, all the other patrons finished their business with him, leaving only Amity... and she seemed to be quite frustrated with the old cat-man.

"I'm sorry Miss! But that's my price! Fifty snails for a hundred grams of dried horrorsbane petals."

"But that's more than my budget allows, and my dad REALLY needs it!"

"A LOT of people want it today Miss. I'm just trying to be fair Miss, cuz I mean it literally when I say these things don't grow on trees."

So focused was Amity arguing with Mr. Saltsburry, she didn't notice Lilith walking right next to her.

"Excuse me Mr. Saltsburry, much Horrosbane petals do you have in stock?"

Amity was shocked to hear the distinct voice of her former mentor, the raven witch herself, Lilith Clawthorne... and apparnently looking for the same things she was. There were two voices in Amity's head right now; one told her to stay far away from Lilith as possible, that she's dangerous and not to be trusted after what she did to her and Luz... which was then shouted out by the second voice, remembering what Luz said about her mentor's sincerity in trying to be better. So deep was her inner shouting match that everything else was drowned out. The noise of the city, the shouting of merchants and vendors, and even Lilith's conversation with Mr. Saltsburry. The squabbling voices in her mind was only broken when she heard her mentor's voice speaking to her directly.

"Um... Hello Amity. I... I wasn't expecting you here today." Greeted Lilith is the most stilted and fearful tone ever, a far, far cry from her mentorship days.

After a few seconds of pause and lot of overthinking on Amity's part... the witchling greeted her back in a quite, shaky tone. "Um... Hi, Ms. Clawthorne."

It was hard for either witch to look at each other directly in the eyes, both had minds swirling with conflicting thoughts. 

Seeing this from a distance, Eda pinched the bridge of her nose. _'Titan damn it Lily. Way to make it awkward. Well, it's a start at least.'_

The tension of the atmosphere was so thick, even Saltsburry could feel it.

"Well... looks like y'all are gonna have a little chat. I'm just gonna be back over here and see if I can find more petals in my stash. I knew I should have organized my stuff better!"

And so it was just the two of them. Neither one really wanting to be the icebreaker, afraid of saying the wrong words at the worst time. This time, it was Lilith who found the courage to do so. She figured it's best to ask a simple question.

"Well... this is an interesting coincidence..."

"Yeah. It is." Amity replied flatly.

For a moment, fear gripped Lilith's mind, fearing that small-talk like this would only annoy her former protégé. No. There will be _NO_ turning back this time. Good or bad, she has to do this.

"My sister and I were looking for ingredients for beast warding potion, and considering the current circumstances, we figured today would be a good day to do so. How about you?"

Amity shifted uncomfortably, and for a moment broke eye contact with her mentor. A part of her still felt like it's better that she stayed quiet... but her ex-mentor's voice just sounded so... sincere.

"I'm on an errand. My father requested me to fetch some ingredients for him while he's off doing business."

This piqued Lilith's curiosity. What would Alador need that he'd send off his daughter to find ingredients of? Surely he's rich enough to afford it on his own, or has other servants to do his grocery shopping.

On the one hand, she'd rather not pry. Trying to reconcile with Amity is a delicate process as it is. On the other hand, consider her and Alador's history, perhaps through him as a subject, it would make, for a lack of a better term, a less awkward icebreaker.

"If I can guess, I'm assuming it involves his... anger issues?"

That caught Amity off-guard.

"How did you know? I-I never told-"

"I knew Alador for quite a long time Amity, be it through highschool or professional life, and for as long as I knew him, he always had issues with his temper. Remember when we last met in the Museum?"

"Yeah. He looked like he was gonna throw down with Eda right then and there."

"And he would have if I hadn't intervened. Plus, Luz, Eda and I could hear him scream his lungs out as we exited the hall."

Amity flinched at the memory. To this day, that was perhaps the angriest she's ever seen her father. Amity could have sworn that some of the kids visiting the museum with their parents cried when he shouted. Still, it's rare! He's not that kind of person to just go ballistic at a moment's notice.

"W-Wait Ms. Clawthorne, he's usually not that... irate."

"I know, I know child. He's usually more composed when in public paces."

The lingering awkwardness was still very much apparent. It was clear that both still had much to say to one another, but neither really knew what or how they should say it. No matter how much small talk there was, They had to break down the wall they built between them. 

"Amity, I..." Lilith paused, taking a brief second to bring out the full sinecerity of her heart and inject them into her words. 

"I'm sorry. Perhaps it doesn't mean anything to you yet, and I understand if you're not ready, but I just want to let you know that I truly am," Amity's ears perked up in surprise but before she could respond, Lilith hastily continued. 

"I know I've done horrible, unforgivable things but I would never lie to you, Amity. You--" another pause, Lilith had stopped herself from blurting out ' _You mean a lot to me._ ' and instead quickly went along with, "You deserve more than that."

If Amity had any doubts about her mentor's sincerity, that should've crushed it.

"I-I... I'm just. I don't know Ms. Lilith."

"Whatever you need to say, it's fine."

Amity took a deep breath. She has to be honest with herself and her former mentor, it's now or never... even if it may sting. "I... I still haven't forgiven you yet Ms. Clawthorne. I'm sorry."

"That makes two of us." Lilith stated matter-of-factly, though her face clearly darkened admitting that.

Amity flinched just the tiniest bit. As much as she appreciated Lilith's honesty, that took a darker turn that she expected, and she hoped that her ex-mentor doesn't take it too far. Amity hastily elaborated herself.

"Wait Ms. Clawthorne! I-I know what I just said, it's just when you I see you hang out with Luz and Eda... I get confused, and maybe just a _bit_ frustrated. Luz has ALL the reasons not to like you. WAY more than me. If anyone on this planet shouldn't forgive you, it's her. But when you were in the Museum, before bumping to dad and it's... it's like Belos' castle never happened. Luz even backed you up when she and I chatted! Why?"

"Because Luz is an exceptional being that manages, through all odds, bring out the best in each and everyone one of us. Even if she doesn't realize it."

Amity both blushed and smiled at that, especially since it was all true in her mind. _'There's literally no one on the isles that's like her. She's courageous and funny and kind and a billion other things. She fights so hard for what she believes in. She's inspirational and-and'._

Amity stopped her train of thought, as she noticed her former mentor was staring at her with quite the amused sort of look.

'Young Love. I remember that feeling.' Lilith opined to herself.

Amity immediately tried to regain her composure, but the blush was still evident. "Yeah. Luz is special alright. You have no idea how much she's been helping me sort out my own... issues."

Lilith sagely nodded.

There was a pregnant pause between the two witches. Lilith awkwardly shuffled in place. She was so used to having some measure of control in a lot of circumstances that she detested feeling lost and helpless when it matters the most. She always thought ahead, always had a contingency plan, but unfortunately when it comes to broken relationships she only came up blank. Amity had her eyes down, playing with the loose thread on her blouse as if waiting for Lilith to recollect her thoughts. With a deep breath, the elder witch finally drew up the courage to break the ice but much to her surprise the witchling beat her to it.

"You know... Dad talks about you. A lot."

If it were any time, Lilith would be blushing as red as a tomato. Here though, she's simply glad to be talking openly with her former protege.

"When you were head of the Coven, he always said that you were perfect for the job, said that 'the world would be a better place with hard workers like her'. Even when you betrayed the Coven, he still respects you a lot."

"Oh? Like how?"

"Well for one... after the Museum incident, he always said that, you always knew 'the right words' to diffuse a situation, apparently you did that a lot in meetings with the coven meetings. He says he's amazed by how some of the guards and convemembers still love you even after all that business with Belos. He says it's a testament to your skill that everyone's STILL jockeying for the position as leader..."

At the mention of the Alador's admiration as well as her former subordinates, Lilith tugged a small smile... but when Amity mentioned the position and the politics involved... she scowled. Amity picked up on that immediately.

"You... you really do regret your time there, do you?"

"Indeed Amity. And I'm warning you don't ever come near it. Those fools who look for a seat of power within the coven will never see how they'll simply be slaves to Belos' will."

 _'To think I saw it as a my future.'_ Amity muttered to herself. The fact that it came from the former head conveness adds new perspective to her already-dismal new outlook on the coven.

On the other hand, Amity was also heartened by the fact that Lilith actually confessed her 'true' feelings of the coven to her specifically. To think, even after what she said, her mentor still trusted her with something like this.

'Well... if she trusts me this much, I guess I can share at least ONE story of my dad that she might appreciate.'

"You know Miss Clawthorne... back on the topic of my dad. Once, when my dad was REALLY stressed out, when he came home from work he just... plopped on the family sofa. Like a rock."

That illicited a amused giggle from her mentor. The great and mighty Alador Blight, the proudest son of the Abomination Coven... sleeping on the sofa like a common housepet.

"But that's not the end of it. I was going down to get to check up on him, and you know what he said in his sleep?"

"Alador... talks in his sleep?"

"Well... only that time, but I remember it. He was clutching something close to his heart... I dunno what it was. I think it was a pendant or medal or something. And I remember what he said at the time being... 'Thank You, Clawthorne.'"

This time, Lilith blushed for real, and seeing that look from Amity's former mentor made her chuckle. Amity could only guess that Lilith and her dad had history, what kind she didn't know.

"Oh!- I think I remember that day. I was inspecting the museum after he funded a major renovation and some critical purchases from auctions."

This gave Lilith an idea.

"Amity... this will be our little secret. Whenever I visited the museum when I was part of the Emperor's Coven, Alador liked to deny it... but he loves the place just as much as I do. He can boast all he wants about how he's 'only doing it to entertain the commoners'... but I could see the truth. Sometimes, he'd just bask in the magnificence of his greatest project. You'd never seen him more at peace."

At first Amity smiled, to think that her dad really did love his museum... But when she remembered his lecture about "keeping up appearances", she frowned.

"Oh. So he's a liar, even about that."

"Amity..." Lilith as not expecting that reaction. She would have thought that giving another perspective of Alador would help... But it seems there's far, far more going on in the Blight Household than she thought.

"I'm sorry Ms. Clawthorne. I just feel like my dad's been hiding something from me a lot lately, and I don't know what to think about it... I mean I only learned he's been taking the elixir just a few days ago."

Lilith widened here eyes in shock. She can definitely put two-and-two together. The comment about the elixir, the color of the fur, the abomination earlier today... it all adds up. She hoped against hope that wouldn't be the case... but at this point it all points to him.

Still, she has to keep a level head. This is still circumstantial evidence, and while he may be the prime suspect, she'd rather not come to conclusions just yet, because imagine the risk.  
Her former subordinates would be in danger, so would anyone who associates with the blight family, small business and the instutions he sponsors would be in danger... His family would be in danger.

_'Amity would be in danger.'_

Lilith kneeled down to Amity, making sure they were both at eye level. She hopes that what she says would help Amity's situation with her father.

"Amity. Sometimes, parents and adults tend to hide things from their loved ones. Why they do so, there's many reasons, some do it because they're going through a lot, and perhaps they don't want their families to worry." 

"Are you... are you saying something's wrong with dad? Worse than just his bad temper?"

"No Amity, what I'm saying is that I want you to understand that perhaps you dad is simply worried about you."

"I get that, but... I just wished he trusted me enough to tell me why."

"I'm sure he will Amity. When he's ready."

"You sure?"

"I do. He can try, but he's never been good at keeping secrets from those he cares about." Lilith a gave a small wink.

Amity tugged a small smile in front of her ex-mentor. Lilith stood up once more, and turned toward the still-rumaging Saltsburry.

"Excuse me Mr. Saltsburry, are you finished checking your inventory?"

"Yep. Titan dang it I knew I should reorganized my stuff. Good news, I have some. Bad news, I only have two bags of the stuff."

"Mr. Saltsburry, how much is it for the dried horrorsbane petals?"

"Ah! Usually it's about thirty snails for a hundred grams worth, a bit pricey, but manageagble, but with the amount of folk looking for the dang things, I had to jack up 'em up to fifty, maybe even sixty at the rate the demands going."

"I'll take both please. One for me and my sister, and one for the young lady here."

Amity's eyes widened in surprise.

"Wait Ms. Clawthorne! You don't have to-"

"Nonsense Amity. It's the least I can do. Mr. Saltsburry?"

"Got it right here Ms.!"

Saltsburry handed two bags of the dried, deep-blue petals. One bag to Lilith, and another bag to Amity.

"Pleasure doing business with you Ma'am! Stay safe y'all! No wants a nasty critter to come crawling in your front lawn."

"Thank you. Ms. Saltsburry."

"Ms. Clawthorne, uh-I don't know what to say! Thank you!"

"The pleasure is all mine Amity."

Lilith offered her a small smile, having meant every word, but it silently dropped seeing how Amity seemed to put her guard up again. She understood though, her former protege always had trouble navigating through her thoughts and emotions, long before she even met Luz. And this was still uncharted territory for her.

"Hey Ms. Clawthorne... I know what I said earlier... about forgiving you and all. While I'm not ready just yet... I'm getting there"

Amity mustered a shy but pensive smile of her own. It wasn't much but Lilith took it as a victory nonetheless. Now she had opened a path to healing the rift between them, a long but familiar road to traverse.

"I have to go home now. Dad could be heading home any time now, and I'd rather not keep him waiting... can you say hi to Luz for me?"

"Of course Amity."

And with that Amity headed off to the exit-gate of Bonesborough, but as she reached the arch separating the great market from the rest of the city, she looked back at her former mentor, a hint of vulnerability in her eyes... and gave a small wave of goodbye. It was more than anything Lilith could hope for, and her heart swelled. Lilith gave a small wave of her own.

"See? What did I tell ya Lily?" Eda snuck behind Lilith, who jumped a bit in surprise, before composing herself.

"You're right Edalyn... even if she hasn't completely forgiven me yet."

"But it's a start, and that's the most important thing... oh and of COURSE you'd stop penny-pinching for the sake of Baby Blight."

"NO! Edalyn we are NOT having this conversation. It's a one-time-thing, and afterwards we are going to go do the same routine, got it!?"

"Ugh! I get that, but a hundred and twenty snails Lily. I wanted to use that leftover cash for some good ol' fried cockatrice!"

"We'll have them another time. Now come on. We have to make preparations back home."

"Way ahead of ya sis, race you there! Last one has to clean Hooty for the rest of the week!"

"NO! Absolutely not- EDALYN!"

* * *

Back at Blight Manor, in the carefully manicured and maintained garden, the Blight Patriarch is trying, and failing, the delicate intricates of botany. In the garden, almost all the flowers, bushes, and trees are neatly organized in carefully placed squares, almost like a chessboard. In the middle of it, standing out like a silver encrusted sore thumb, was the Silverberry plant that gifted to Alador by Guthrum.

For how much it stands out, Alador notices how it's much more beautiful than anything else in the garden. Still, he realizes that he's completely out of his depth in just HOW to take care of a plant like this. He's been delegating for so long that he doesn't know the intricates of taking care of a plant.

"Sir. You have a literal cup of water."

"Well, what Guthrum told me I should water it a day with approximately this amount."

"But not dump it all at once. It's not good for the plant. You risk flooding it in one go."

"I see." Alador noted.

Just then, he heard a door opening and closing behind. It must be Amity. Alador dismissed the servant as soon as said servant told him how to water the plant.

"Here Father. The ingredients that you required."

"Excellent! Thank you Amity, I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate this."

Amity beamed, glad to have her father's approval.

"With this and the silverberry plant, I should have an elixir ready to make. I'm not good with potions, but I'm sure it's not that difficult-"

"Wait dad... are the silverberry fruits ripe yet?" Concern was plastered onto Amity's face. She knows how important the elixir is for her, but he's being unusually reckless. What if the wrong combination or under-ripe fruit would only make his condition worse? He'd be even more temperamental.

"They should be, why?"

"Well... I dunno. I think you should give it a day or two at least. I looked up online about silverberry fruits. The only indication that tells them that they're ripe is if they glow. Better if it's under the light of the moon."

 _'Asterion Damn it!'_ Alador snapped at himself. Guthrum was right, moonlight was essential to this thing.

"Are... Are you upset dad? If-if so, I'm sorry..."

"No, no Amity, I'm not upset. I'm just... well, it's inconvenient for me." _'Inconvenient'_ was an understatement... if only Amity knew the truth. He counted he only three vials of elixir left... Good enough to keep it at bay for a night... if he's calm. He'll have to keep his temper in check at all times until the berries ripens.

"Are you sure dad?"

"Yes Amity. It's fine. I just need time to think." Alador realizes just how _terrible_ he is at reassuring his children.

"...You... you sure you can't talk it with me?"

Alador was silent. On the one hand, the real truth behind his condition would dangerous, and he wouldn't now how she would react. On the other hand, his daughter sounded sincerely concerned about his condition... surely she'd understand?

It was odd that someone would be concerned with his well being. Felt almost like an eternity.

Alador looked directly in his daughter's eyes.

"When the time comes Amity. I'll tell you everything. Trust me." He mustered as much confidence as he could project onto his toward his daughter. Alador opined to himself that maybe now is not the best time, but he definitely will when she's ready.

Or, if he's being honest, when HE'S ready...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Made this chapter after reading a bunch of Lilith and Amity centered fics. Felt like I needed to throw my hat in the ring, because it's one of my favorite dynamics in Owl House fanfiction.


End file.
